Rapid grocer Jiffy is delivering hot, fresh pizzas cooked in its Deptford dark store to customers in the surrounding area.
The ultra-fast delivery player has forged a partnership with Miguel’s Pizza to serve as an “on-site supplier” in a move Jiffy said signalled “the start of our plan to open more local kitchen hubs across the capital”.
The company, which in March launched in-house bakeries at three of its dark stores in east London, is offering four 14-inch pizzas – Margarita, Pepperoni, Truffle and Vegan – which can be selected as part of grocery orders. The company is bullish on the potential of success, revealing that its in-house bakery – offered from four of its east London dark stores – generated 300 to 400 orders every week.
Jiffy said it planned to collaborate with cafés, bars and restaurants “to enable them to reach new consumers via delivery without having to have their own bricks and mortar presence”.
“For the first time, Londoners will be able to do their groceries and have a hot meal delivered in minutes through the same app,” said Vladimir Kholiaznikov, CEO and founder of Jiffy. “Our pizzeria is part of an ongoing mission to innovate in the fresh and hot food category to be the ultimate online convenience store for Londoners at no extra cost.”
Kholiaznikov told The Grocer in-store bakery items provided a gross margin of around 40%, significantly higher than the 20% to 30% from grocery.
“Pizza’s going to take it to the next level,” he said. “If this is moving well, we’ll consider other segments. Rapid grocery is a business of unit economics, and for us its really important how we can drive the cash margin of what we deliver.”
Miguel Barclay, founder of Miguel’s Pizza, said the partnership meant more people across London would be able to enjoy his pizzas.
“Our first local hub will mean that we can reach new neighbourhoods in a more efficient way,” Barclay said, “and we believe that our great product combined with Jiffy’s ultra-fast service will make for a successful recipe.”
Pizza delivery is the latest of a line of ventures by Jiffy in recent months. In January it launched ‘Jiffy Q-Commerce as a Service’, enabling brands and retailers to offer sub-15 minute delivery of their products, via their own DTC site, but using Jiffy’s ordering system and fulfilment network. The first partner for the offering is BrewDog.
Late last year, Jiffy launched an own-label range of fresh produce, in what it believed was a first for the rapid convenience sector. Late last year the rapid grocer also started listing its dark stores on Uber Eats, to accept orders made via the rival platform.
Kholiaznikov said the company was cautious about signing up with other courier platforms because it made it harder for the company to forecast demand, but that further partnerships were likely. Around 9% to 10% of Jiffy orders leaving dark stores were placed via Uber Eats, he added.
Jiffy is planning to “enhance supply chain efficiencies by building its own warehouse infrastructure” in the near future. “This is with a view to sourcing the majority of products directly from manufacturers by the middle of 2023,” Kholiaznikov said.
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