MANILA -- A Philippine startup backed by one of the country's biggest conglomerates on Wednesday launched a new service that promises the delivery of groceries within 15 minutes of being ordered, taking on superapp Grab's e-commerce business.
The service offered by SariSuki's Supah app is the first in the Philippines and hopes to benefit from the explosion of online shopping amid the coronavirus pandemic.
SariSuki, co-founded by Grab's former Philippine head Brian Cu, is among new e-commerce startups in the Philippines that are seeking a niche in a sector dominated by titans like Lazada and Shopee.
SariSuki runs eight "dark stores," defined as being exclusively online, that serve Metro Manila. The company directly employs over 100 staff, many of whom are riders who deliver the goods on bicycles, which shields the business from rising fuel prices.
The service targets consumers who need essentials quickly. Every dark store has around 2,000 product types, ranging from food and toiletries to diapers. In contrast, a supermarket has 15,000 to 20,000 product types, according to officials.
Supah competes with major supermarkets that have set up online platforms as well as Grab Mart, which does not promise instant delivery but offers more products.
Metro Manila is notorious for traffic jams, but SariSuki has a system it says allows deliveries to be made within 15 minutes after an order is placed.
"When we plot the delivery radius, we make sure that it's an area that we can hit in under 15 minutes with the worst traffic conditions or worst weather conditions," said Supah head Timothy Cu, who is not related to SariSuki CEO Brian Cu.
The Philippines' internet economy, measured by gross merchandise value, grew 93% to $17 billion last year, underpinned by a 132% expansion in e-commerce. It is expected to reach $40 billion by 2025, according to a study by Temasek, Google and Bain & Company.
Brian Cu said the company will judge Supah's success on the profitability of each dark store after one year.
He added that a total of 40 dark stores are needed to capture the whole of Metro Manila, which has over 13 million people. In India, Cu said a city can have hundreds of thousands of orders per day.
"A hundred thousand orders a day in one city is not inconceivable but it will take time for us to get there," he said.
SariSuki raised $11 million last year from investors including JG Summit Holdings, one of the country's leading conglomerates with interests spanning food and beverage, real estate and an airline. The conglomerate, owned by the Gokongwei family, has set up a unit for its tech investments.
Cu said SariSuki may raise more funds this year, without providing details.