Debt financing: People on the streets of Mexico City. The agreement ties into Amazon’s broader strategy of delivering orders more quickly, which the online retailer says is helping it sell more everyday essentials. — Reuters
NEW MEXICO: Mexican grocery delivery startup Justo and Amazon.com Inc are partnering to offer Justo’s service on the online giant’s platform in Mexico.
Shoppers visiting Amazon’s website in the country will be able to purchase items ranging from fresh produce to meat and fish from Justo, which will handle deliveries.
The partnership helps Amazon expand the inventory of fresh products and supermarket staples available to shoppers and gives the startup greater online visibility, Ricardo Weder, Justo’s founder and chief executive, said in an interview.
The agreement ties into Amazon’s broader strategy of delivering orders more quickly, which the online retailer said is helping it sell more everyday essentials that shoppers typically buy from nearby brick-and-mortar stores.
Last month, Justo said it had secured US$70mil in equity and debt financing, led by General Atlantic LP. The company also counts Femsa Ventures and Grupo Bimbo SAB as investors.
“Justo is going to be Amazon’s produce and grocery proposal in Mexico,” said Weder, who founded the company in 2019.
“It’s one of the few times where Amazon has left all of the client’s experience to a third party, so we’re very excited.”
In the United States, Amazon owns Whole Foods Market Inc, the organic grocer, and runs a chain of Amazon Fresh-branded mainstream grocery stores.
The share of the population that buys groceries online in Mexico is barely 3%, Weder said.
“The growth opportunity is immense,” he added, noting he expects the partnership to boost adoption.
Justo, which operates in Mexico’s capital and in a handful of other cities including Monterrey, also has smaller operations in Peru and Brazil.
It partners with local producers to offer a private label that carries the Justo name. Cutting intermediaries from the supply chain and having a vertical integration allows it to offer competitive prices, Weder said.
Local producers also benefit from working with Justo because they’re selling higher quantities at a better price, according to Weder.
“Upwards of 68% of our products are sourced from small and medium Mexican producers,” he said. “We have a few success cases where really small producers are now selling five to seven million pesos a month.”
After the latest funding round and the Amazon partnership, Weder’s plans are to continue growing in Mexico.
“Our goal in the next 18 to 24 months is to operate in all of Mexico’s main cities,” he said. “The market opportunity is so big that we have plenty left to do.” — Bloomberg
