Contxto – Following the hype with Uber’s acquisition of Cornershop, fellow Mexican grocery delivery startup Jüsto recently raised one of the most valuable seed rounds in Latin American history.
With US$10 million worth of seed funding, the online supermarket will continue to offer consumers products at affordable prices. Lacking physical stores, Jüsto operates through B2C and B2B “dark store” arrangements.
Leading the round was Mountain Nazca accompanied by Foundation Capital and FEMSA Ventures. Sources report that Mountain Nazca’s contribution to Jüsto comes from its US$75 million fund launched in October of last year.
Specifically, this resource is for startups in Latin America “that make the biggest impact in the market.”
“We are very grateful to Ricardo Weder and Ricardo Martínez for inviting us to be part of this great challenge,” said Héctor Sepúlveda, Managing Partner of Mountain Nazca. “All of us are very proud to lead the extension of the seed round of Jüsto. The team has amazed us with both their vision and ability to execute.”
Both Ricardo Weber and Ricardo Martínez founded the company in 2019 to offer quality products at competitive rates. Aspiring to be completely digital, not only is the strategy to eliminate intermediaries through Jüsto’s e-commerce model, but to also provide better working arrangements for providers.
Online supermarket
Jüsto aspires to become the first 100% online supermarket, offering approximately 3,500 quality fairly-priced products. While many come from local providers, emphasis always goes to quality, as well.
“What happens in many cases is that the product, mainly edibles such as vegetables or fruits, spend so much time on the shelf, bruised, that they lose their freshness,” said Weder, who worked with Cabify for years. “Then you have to to find whatever remains to take.”
By focusing on an online strategy and eliminating intermediaries, Jüsto’s mission is to build a unique shopping experience. Much of this is based on four pillars, including on-demand efficient delivery, guaranteed quality, transparent prices, and zero waste.
Regarding potential revenue, Jüsto estimates US$7 billion with the current online market penetration of 4.2 percent of total sales. In 2018 alone, supermarket sales in Mexico were worth around US$60 billion.
“We want to revolutionize the supermarket industry in Mexico and Latin America,” said Weder to Expansion. “Demonstrating that we Mexicans have the talent, tenacity and ability to develop technology and compete with some of the largest companies worldwide.”
-JA
