Now Lidl’s getting into the online grocery delivery business after Amazon Fresh’s UK debut and Aldi’s plans, taking on Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons
Fresh from Amazon's launch into the highly competitive grocery delivery game with Pantry, is fellow supermarket disrupter Lidl about to follow suit?
The German discounter, which is already giving the big four a run for their money in bricks and mortar, has snapped up a fresh food delivery startup in its home country.
Kochzaube, which delivers fresh food for meals along with recipe cards to follow when cooking, had recently decided to cease trading by the end of the year, unable to compete against HelloFresh, a fellow meal delivery service from Berlin's Rocket Internet startup hot house.
Read more: Amazon Fresh launches in London
Now, it's been snapped up by Lidl, likely at an appropriately discounted sum, although a figure for the deal was not disclosed.
"Ordering recipe boxes for home delivery has become a growing market in Germany," Lidl said in a statement. "It responds to consumer demand for cooking delicious meals using market fresh ingredients, but without the need to go shopping. Kochzauber already has a strong offering with great potential for development within this growing market."
ShoreCap analyst Clive Black said in a note: "We will watch with interest to see how this acquisition and line of potential travel progresses for Lidl from a number of perspectives."
"Firstly, a discounter entering the online grocery arena, secondly, would Lidl look at the UK in a similar vein in time, thirdly, the emergence of specialist online grocers – see New York City on this front where there is an intense battle at the moment compressing margins, and lastly, whether such developments represent darker clouds on the horizon for Ocado, with Amazon Fresh and Hello Fresh already encircling its Greater London manor."
Ocado already faces stiff competition from Amazon Fresh, with analysis by City A.M, suggesting a basket of shopping with Amazon would come in as much as 20 per cent cheaper than with home delivery pioneer Ocado.
Fellow discounter Aldi, recently revealed its plans to venture into online shopping world in 2016, taking on Ocado as well as Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons in new territory. Lidl might soon be joining in too.