Grocery-delivery companies Flink and Getir announced $240m and $555m respectively in new funding on Friday in the latest influx of capital into this hot new sector. 

The fundraises signal that investor appetite is far from abating. Two investors with knowledge of the Flink deal told Sifted that the round was massively “oversubscribed.”

The news came as Sifted on Friday also reported that another rival Gorillas is planning a secondary share sale as part of an upcoming $1bn funding round that could value the company at $6bn and allow founder Kağan Sümer to take home millions in cash.

Berlin-based Flink said the money will fuel its expansion and comes alongside a strategic partnership with German supermarket operator REWE Group. It didn’t disclose a valuation. Getir said its own raise valued the Turkish company at $7.56bn.

“The order growth we have seen over the past weeks has been explosive,” Flink founder Oliver Merkel said in a statement.

Christian Meerman, founding partner at Cherry Ventures which was an early backer of Flink, told Sifted that the firm chose to back Flink over other competitors due to the company’s “outstanding” founding team and advanced tech stack.

Unlike competitors, Flink’s technology automates the entire supply chain, allowing orders to be tracked efficiently, and provides a forecast for what products should be reordered. It also has an algorithm for rider allocation and route optimization.

“Flink’s execution pace is unbelievable. It’s opened up 50+ hubs in 18 cities over a very short period of time, and ramped up revenue at a rate rarely seen in any market. Yes, there is competition, but with a potential €300bn grocery market in Germany alone, there’s room for more than one player.”

Getir said it had raised cash from Silver Lake, Mubadala, Sequoia and Tiger Global. Getir has now raised almost $1bn over three separate funding rounds so far in 2021.

“There is great appetite for Getir and rapid grocery delivery,” Nazim Salur, founder of Getir, said in a statement. “As the pioneers of the market, we continue to stand out by constantly innovating to provide the industry standard.”

The fundraises comes as VC firms have ploughed millions into a dozen on-demand delivery startups in Europe over the past year, hoping to capitalise on consumer demand for convenience.

On-demand delivery companies offer customers about 1k to 2k grocery items that can be ordered via an app and arrive in less than 15 minutes. These goods are stocked in ‘dark stores’ — mini-warehouses in the city centre — and delivered by a fleet of riders, mostly on e-bikes.

They are selling a big vision. Like its competitors, Flink is seeking to totally transform how we buy groceries, edge out the supermarket incumbents and transform the food supply chain all at the same time.

Just about every VC in Europe is paying close attention to the scene at the moment. Creandum, Index, Blossom, Northzone, Cherry, Heartcore and Target Global are amongst the well-known funds which have backed speedy grocery startups.

Miriam Partington, Sifted’s Germany correspondent, contributed reporting.