Cabify Expands to Grocery Delivery in Spain with Lola Market

Cabify Expands Services with Grocery Delivery Integration

Spanish ride-hailing company Cabify is broadening its service offerings to include grocery deliveries, aiming to enhance its position as a comprehensive urban mobility and utility provider.

New “Super” Option Launched in Nine Spanish Cities

A new “Super” feature has been added to the Cabify application, currently available to users in A Coruña, Alicante, Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga, Murcia, Seville, Valencia, and Zaragoza.

This grocery delivery service is facilitated through a partnership with Lola Market, a local grocery picking startup.

Lola Market Acquisition by Glovo

Interestingly, Lola Market was recently acquired by Glovo, a leading on-demand delivery platform in Spain, as part of its strategy to bolster its rapid urban grocery delivery capabilities. This acquisition signifies a period of significant activity for the smaller Spanish startup.

The current relationship between Cabify and Glovo, operating through Lola Market, appears to be a strategic collaboration at this time.

Lola Market to Operate Independently

Glovo has stated that Lola Market will maintain its brand identity and operate autonomously following the acquisition. Gonçalo Soares da Costa, CEO of Mercadão, another grocery picking business also acquired by Glovo, will lead the operations.

While Cabify promotes the “Super” offering as a first-time grocery shopping experience within its app, the service—including delivery—is managed by Lola Market. This represents a technical integration designed to cross-promote the convenience of app-based supermarket shopping to Cabify’s existing user base.

Grocery Sourcing from Major Retailers

Lola Market provides grocery deliveries from prominent Spanish supermarket chains, including Makro, Lidl, Carrefour, Mercadona, DIA, and Alcampo. Furthermore, they offer picking services from traditional markets and specialized stores.

Expansion of Multimodal Subscription Services

Cabify previously launched a pilot multimodal subscription program in Madrid this summer. This initiative aims to encourage users to adopt subscription plans that leverage its diverse mobility options—ride-hailing, MOVO (electric micromobility), Bive (bike subscription), and courier services.

The new grocery partnership is presented as a continuation of this multimodality strategy, with Cabify also emphasizing potential environmental benefits. The company suggests that grouped deliveries will reduce trips in private vehicles and contribute to improved urban air quality.

Potential Environmental Impact of Ride-Hailing

It’s important to note that ride-hailing services can have negative impacts on cities, contributing to road congestion and potentially diminishing the quality of public transportation. Even electric vehicles can generate particulate matter from tire wear, impacting air quality.

Grocery deliveries experienced a surge in popularity during pandemic lockdowns, while ride-hailing services faced challenges. Therefore, diversification appears to be a prudent strategy for Cabify.

Cabify and Lola Market Statements

“This new service expands the concept of what we know as ‘multi-mobility’,” stated Lucía Chávarri, VP of new business at Cabify. “The ‘Super’ service, through collaboration with Lola Market, reduces supermarket trips in single-occupancy vehicles, a common occurrence in cities. Online shopping also enhances resource efficiency by enabling the grouping and optimized routing of deliveries.”

Luis Pérez del Val, founder and CEO of Lola Market, indicated that the partnership with Cabify will broaden its reach and allow it to leverage its existing infrastructure, making the service accessible to a wider audience.

He also highlighted the potential for optimizing the work of their Personal Shoppers, envisioning a scenario where a Cabify user arriving at the airport can simultaneously order groceries for delivery upon reaching their destination. “The ability to shop within an hour or at a scheduled time represents a significant opportunity for this collaboration,” he added.

Future Expansion Plans

Cabify also provides its ride-hailing platform in several cities across Latin America. Inquiries have been made regarding potential plans to extend grocery delivery services to users in that region.

The boundaries between various on-demand city services are becoming increasingly blurred in both Europe and the Americas as major platform companies compete for market share and profitability, striving towards the development of comprehensive “super app” ecosystems.