Germany’s Flink Raises $240 Million For Quick Grocery Delivery

German grocery delivery startup Flink raised $240 million in a Series A funding round led by Prosus, BOND and Mubadala Capital. The Berlin-based company was launched just six months ago and has partnered with the Rewe Group supermarket chain, Reuters reported on Friday (June 4).

“The order growth we have seen over the past weeks has been explosive and we attribute that to the excellent service we are providing to our consumers,” Co-Founder Oliver Merkel said, per the news outlet.

Flink now has over 50 local hubs since launching and is opening a new hub every two days. The firm said it reaches more than 3 million customers every day.

The startup is one of numerous companies launched during the COVID-19 pandemic — Gorillas, Getir, Weezy — all clamoring for the mobile grocery delivery space.

“We are on a mission to give people back some of their valuable time during their hectic days and impress them with our service every time they order,” Merkel said in a statement.

This new infusion of capital coincides with other German startup funding, including Celonis, Wefox and Flixbus — collectively raising a total of more than $1 billion.

Flink — which means “quick” in German — delivers groceries in 24 locales including Germany, France and the Netherlands.

A PYMNTS May survey of consumer behavior showed that 17 percent of all consumers used digital platforms to order and pay for groceries. Some 14 percent use online services like Instacart at least once a month. Some 72 percent indicated that they will maintain digital habits post-pandemic.

Fast delivery is now a mainstay and quick commerce is a big focus of venture capital investments. Amazon started the trend with Prime membership in 2005, and the expectation of ordering and delivery has increased.