4 Strategies Kurly Used to Change the Way Koreans buy Groceries

Do you know that Kurly Gig-worker program was so famous in Seoul that it has created shortage of taxi drivers there since most of them where switchingjobs now.
Kurly Company Timeline

Kurly was founded in 2014 as the brainchild of Sophie Kim, who once worked at McKinsey, and Eric Kim who previously had experience starting another startup.

Sophie and Eric big idea? Change the way how Koreans buy their groceries.

They found an opportunity for delivering fresh food right to people’s doors, a service that was sorely missing.

The goal was simple: make shopping easy and reliable for city-dwellers caught up in the daily grind.

Breaking the Mould

  • Kurly stood out because it’s all about fresh, quality goods, sourced straight from the farmers who grow and make them.
  • They curated standout products, like organic veggies, craft foods, and hard-to-find treasures.
  • City folks always craved for a no-fuss way to shop for groceries.
  • Kurly built a top-notch delivery system, complete with right storage spots and an efficient delivery network.
  • Kurly embraced tech right from the start, with easy-to-use apps, tailored suggestions, and super handy subscription options for its customers.

No Wonder it became a Success!

  • Since the beginning, Kurly’s taken off like a rocketship, quickly growing its user base and its range of products.
  • They’ve built a reputation for being open and honest about where their food comes from, and that instilled faith in its user base, making them feel connected and they kept coming back.
  • The brand always stood out with clever marketing, teaming up with influencers, getting social media coverage, and curating unique experiential campaigns.

Do you know that Market Kurly delivers almost 2 Tonnes of Kale every day?

They faced 3 Major Challenges

  • Logistics: To deliver fresh eats on the fly, they’ve had to leverage tech and build a system that’s both user-friendly and dependable.
  • Competition: Competing in the crowded e-commerce market required the brand to differentiate itself through superior quality, service, and customer experience
  • Scaling Operations: There was no short cut to scale operations while maintaining quality and reliability. Kurly had to grind through processes, by optimizing supply chain logistics, and invest in talent and technology.

4 Secrets to Kurly's Journey of becoming a Unicorn:

  1. Quality: Quality wins, hands down. Kurly’s got 3 million registered users who swear by it, thanks to the stellar quality they deliver. They work hand-in-hand with farmers and makers to make sure customers get the freshest picks.
  2. Innovation: Kurly is always big on AI, helping them keep just the right amount of stock and cut down on waste. They leverage data to optimise delivery mechanism, like mapping and tagging that maps out the quickest routes.
  3. Partnerships: Kurly’s got exclusive items and runs a tight ship when it comes to quality because they partner directly with the farmers and producers. This local sourcing clicks with folks who think green, and it’s a big reason why more and more customers are using Kurly.
  4. Operational Excellence: Kurly’s all about fine-tuning their operations to save costs and boost margins, and they use all data tools at their disposal to validate this. Automating processes helps them making operations and deliveries predictable, which can be attributed as the largest factor in their operational profitability.

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