Online grocery service Rohlik starts German conquest in Munich

Czech online food retailer Rohlik Group has entered the German market under the name Knuspr.de, starting in Munich. With its disruptive business model, the retailer wants to conquer not only Germany but also the rest of Europe.

“Just the beginning”

Inhabitants of Munich are now able to have their groceries delivered to their homes within three hours. On the webshop knuspr.de, they will find a selection of more than 9,000 sku’s, including many fresh and local products directly from the producer or farmer.

The company behind the delivery service is Rohlik Group, a Czech unicorn that is already successful on its home market, in Hungary and in Austria. The newcomer will launch in Frankfurt later this year and already has Hamburg, Cologne and Dortmund planned for 2022. “And that is just the beginning”, says CEO Erich Čomor, heads of the German operations.

European ambitions

Čomor thinks online will account for about a third of all German grocery shopping in the next five years, and that Knuspr.de will make a significant contribution to this development. He says his company wants to “supply better food to approximately 30 million customers within three years and to become the number one online grocery delivery service in Germany in the medium term.”

Rohlik makes no secret of its ambitions: it wants to become a leading European player. In two financing rounds this year, the pure player raised 190 and 100 million euros respectively, to accelerate growth. In the near future, the shopping service wants to start in France, Italy, Romania and Spain.

Data company

The company wants to make the difference with a broad assortment and a superior delivery experience. The business model combines the speed of flash delivery companies like Gorillas and Getir with the wide selection and service of slower, classic supermarket chains and online food retailers. Rohlik says it succeeds because it is essentially a data company that keeps all operations in-house.

The group was founded in 2014 and last year achieved a turnover of more than 300 million euros. The shopping service already serves 750,000 customers and does so in each country under a different name: it is Rohlik.cz in the home market, Kifli.hu in Hungary, Gurkerl.at in Austria and now Knuspr.de in Germany.