La Fourche is just seven years old but it has been quite a rollercoaster for the French startup. During this time, the online grocery retailer has gone through a global pandemic, followed by the rise of venture-backed quick-commerce startups that promised grocery deliveries in less than 15 minutes, followed by the implosion of that vertical.
When you talk with La Fourche’s co-founder and CEO Nathan Labat, he doesn’t spend too much time dwelling on Flink, Getir, Gopuff, Gorillas and all the q-commerce startups that swarmed over Europe around 2021. That’s because La Fourche’s business model could be considered the perfect opposite of all that. Although the startup is also VC-backed, it has taken a different path.
Most of La Fourche’s inventory consists of healthy and organic products with a long shelf life. Think olive oil, diapers, cereals, shampoo and coffee beans.
“I break it down into three buying patterns. You have one buying pattern, which is the quick refill — ‘what am I going to eat tonight?’ — it leads to very low average order values: €20 to €30,” Labat explained.
“Then, you have a weekly pattern, where you plan more, you go and buy fruit and vegetables, fresh produce, etc.,” he went on. “Then you have the stock up opportunity, which is really about filling up your cupboards for a month, a month and a half.
“These are three very distinct patterns. And we’re really clearly identified as a stock-up company.”
The company only offers a handful of options for each product category so that it has broad coverage of its users’ needs without overwhelming them with choice. It also offers its own brand products.
In a way, La Fourche has been trying to differentiate its offering from what you can get from traditional supermarket chains and their delivery services.
“There’s a lack of consumer confidenc …