Ninja Delivery is the new kid on the ultra-fast delivery block
The ultra-fast grocery delivery space is growing, well, quickly in Toronto, with the introduction of a service that promises to deliver everyday grocery items to customers’ door within as little as 10 minutes.
Ninja Delivery, which launched last year in Waterloo, announced its Toronto launch this week. It comes just one week after Vancouver start-up Tiggy, which promises delivery in15 minutes, announced its expansion into Canada’s largest city.
“We started Ninja to save people their most scarce resource: Time,” said Ninja’s co-founder and CEO Wesley Yue. “This inspired us to build a service that feels like magic, and now we want to make it available to as many people as possible.”
Like Tiggy, Ninja is able to promise quick service by delivering only to pre-determined delivery zones within the city. It uses micro-fulfillment centres to house product, and proprietary technology to determine everything from product selection, arranging inventory and helping its “Delivery Ninjas” find the shortest route to a customer’s home.
While Ninja Delivery is currently offering delivery in Toronto’s West end and around the city’s downtown universities, it plans to offer delivery throughout “most of the GTA” in the coming months.
Ninja customers can shop 1,000 products (including the requisite rapid antigen tests) that include fresh produce, local meat, hair and skin products, pet treats and phone chargers. The service operates daily until 2 a.m., with no minimum order and no delivery fees on orders over $9.99.
The company says it is “built on sustainability,” with eco-friendly initiatives including electric bikes, recycled paper bags and technology that prevents wasted inventory. It also says staff make “fair wages plus tips” and are provided benefits. “Ninja takes pride in providing a better working environment than all of the gig-economy platforms,” it says.
Ultra-fast delivery is emerging as what Forbes calls “the next big battleground” in the delivery industry, with services bearing names like Getir, Gopuff, Fridge No More and Jokr springing up to meet the seemingly insatiable customer demand to get their kale faster.
Their arrival has even caused some of the established delivery services to take notice. Last year, Instacart introduced 30-minute grocery delivery in the United States.
