In this second coronavirus (COVID-19) spring, Russian-founded food delivery services are making their way in western countries. One of them is Getfaster.io, a German fresh product retail and delivery company launched in 2020 by former X5 executive Dmitry Bergelson alongside Georgy Skalsky, Kirill Solonitsyn and Anton Zakharov, reports East-West Digital News (EWDN).

After starting operations in Düsseldorf in January 2021, the company now serves nine German cities including Berlin, as reported by Rusbase. GetFaster claims to process some 360 orders daily, which are delivered in up to two hours.

In February, the start-up attracted €1.5mn from a consortium of Russian or Russia-connected investors, including AltaIR Capital, Bramos Capital, Brayne, Optimum Strategy Capital, as well as individual investors from the restaurant industry. The deal has just been announced to the media. 

The fresh money will be used to open new dark stores, launch marketing campaigns, develop logistics and IT, and expand the team. GetFaster plans to raise some €30mn later this year “to aggressively expand into new territories”, develop its product range, increase profitability and improve infrastructure. The company aims to generate some €2bn in turnover in 4-5 years.

Bergelson, Skalsky and Zakharov founded a homonymous service in Russia back in 2016. Currently positioned as an e-commerce and delivery service provider serving offline retailers, GetFaster.ru is independent from the German company, with no legal link between the two entities.

Among other Russian-founded food delivery services operating internationally are  Jiffy (UK), FoodRocket and FridgeNoMore (USA).

“Russian companies pioneered a new model for food delivery: after Samokat and Yandex Lavka launched their 15 minute-service in Moscow, Russian entrepreneurs started opening similar ventures in the US, the UK and Europe,” said AltaIR Capital founder Igor Ryabenky in an exchange with East-West Digital News.

This article first appeared in East-West Digital News (EWDN), a bne IntelliNews partner publication.