Weee
- Weee! doubled its revenue last year and is pursuing a higher valuation.
- Unlike other grocery services, Weee! focuses on specialty items rather than speed of delivery.
- The startup is focused on expanding its presence in the Hispanic grocery sector.
Weee! is looking to raise a new funding round that would bump the grocery delivery startup’s valuation to $3.5 billion or more, according to two people familiar with the matter. That would be a significant increase from its previous round last spring, which valued the company around $2.8 billion, these people said.
The new funding, what would be a Series E financing, comes after a strong 2021 wherein Weee!’s revenue doubled to more than $400 million, one of the people said. During this time, the company has expanded into more cities across the US and leaned more heavily into the Hispanic grocery market. Weee! did not respond to a request for comment.
The recent growth establishes Weee! as a strong player in a competitive grocery delivery industry that has taken off during the pandemic. It sits alongside startups such as Instacart and Gopuff that have expanded quickly over the past two years. But in several respects, Weee! stands apart. It focuses on specialty items, like pink pineapples and pandan jelly that you aren’t likely to find at most grocery chains. Also, its deliveries are timed to arrive at least a day after placing an order, rather than the minutes-to-hours timeframe that companies including Instacart, Gopuff and Jokr target.
Prior to this round, Weee! raised more then $400 million from investors such as DST, Blackstone and Tiger Global. The focus on specialty items was once a hindrance to some investors. Founder Larry Liu, who was born and raised in China, initially aimed at Chinese groceries specifically. That turned off some investors who worried the addressable audience was too narrow, said people familiar with the matter. They asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations.
But the company now has a broad range of Asian grocery offerings including Japanese, Korean, Filipino and Indian food, competing with chains like 99 Ranch. It’s more recently expanded into Hispanic groceries, which the company is doubling down on via its current growth plans, according to people familiar with the matter.
In addition to Weee!’s specialty appeal, the company also offers items like bread, pears and milk. That has helped the company attract loyal customers who come to the service for all their grocery needs, not just harder-to-find items.
That loyalty, along with the pandemic surge of people looking for grocery deliveries, has been good for business. Weee!, which launched in 2015, pulled in $200 million in revenue in 2020, according to two people familiar with the matter. Its revenue more than doubled last year, one of these people said. As a point of comparison, Jokr, a rapid delivery service that launched a year ago, pulled in around $200 million last year, according to a person familiar with its figures.
In an investor presentation from a previous round, Weee! projected 2021 losses of roughly $25 million—though it’s unclear what the final result was last year. The company’s plan to expand into more cities will require more distribution centers, likely pushing off the day when it starts making money.
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