Seoul, South Korea-based online grocery service Market Kurly announced it has raised KRW 100 billion in Series D funding — which was valued at about $88 million USD at the time of the announcement. Global Venture Partners led this round of funding.
“Market Kurly’s innovative, ‘cold-chain’ system from producer to consumer, which maintains temperatures optimally suited to each product, means that we can offer customers the freshest products at the fastest speeds, compared to other online grocery services. With this latest investment, we can secure internal processes and build a talent pool so that we can continue to increase our grocery market share while maintaining quality,” said CEO Sophie Kim in a statement.
Launched in 2015, Market Kurly disrupted the online grocery industry and its “Morning Star Delivery” service is the fastest and freshest delivery system available for Korean consumers. Orders that are placed at 11 AM are delivered by 7 AM the next morning, including fresh produce that was harvested that same day. And Market Kurly is aiming to solidify its number one position in the daybreak grocery delivery market.
“Market Kurly has shown its strong presence as a leading player in the fast-growing online grocery market,” added Sequoia China VP Tiantian He. “We are deeply impressed with Sophie Kim, CEO at Kurly Inc., bearing vision, passion, and drive, which leads us to participate in Series D again. We will continue to support Kurly.”
This round of funding will be used for ensuring that Market Kurly retains stable service quality as the business scales rapidly. And supply chain management will be secured by building closer cooperation with suppliers. Plus Market Kurly is going to recruit substantially in IT in order to secure sustainable growth.
“Market Kurly has an outstanding track record. With KRW 157 billion in sales in 2018, it has grown three times since 2017. We’re investing because Kurly offers Korean consumers something unique – sustainable, high-quality food combined with excellent customer service and leading-edge logistics. Adoption is building quickly, with monthly sales reaching KRW 30 billion in January, breaking all records,” explained Global Venture Partners managing partner Spyro Korsanos.
