Can an e-commerce company scale like a web app? The answer, as we all know, is no. However, given that Amazon ‘scaled’ by creating a market for items which could fit through a letterbox, a UK company plans to do the same – this time with food, specifically healthy food like nuts and dried berries.
Graze is a new UK startup created by Graham Bosher, ex of LoveFilm, who decided he wanted to eat better in the office but was working in a location which made this near impossible. As he happened to be responsible for LoveFilm’s delivery platform (1 million+ postal transactions a week) he put two and two together and Graze was born. The LoveFilm connection is strong. The three non-execs on the board are William Reeve (LoveFilm/Screenselect Founder), Simon Morris (LoveFilm’s Marketing Director), Mark Livingstone (LoveFilm’s ex CEO). Backers including Saul & Robin Klein of TAG and Arts Alliance Ventures.
The idea is that Graze makes it easier for people to eat healthily at work and combine this with value (useful in these credit-crunch times). They delivery a full letter-box-sized box of healthy food (nuts, berries, dried fruit etc) straight to a desk for less than an empty box (the delivery charge) of an online supermarket. Graze launched 3 weeks ago and – they say – it’s spreading virally in offices throughout the country.
Graze of course is limited by the need for a warehouse. But if it can be as efficient as Amazon’s then I guess the idea can ‘scale’ to whatever that can take.
Update: Here’s a video from a recent customer…