Saudi-based wholesale grocery platform Sary has raised seed funding, the startup announced today. Sary did not disclose the size of investment but has told MENAbytes that it’s a six-figure (US Dollar) round that came at a valuation of $2.67 million. We could not confirm if that’s pre or post-money. The startup also told us that the investment came from individual investors.
Founded by Mohammed Aldossary, who previously worked with Careem in different roles and Khaled Alsiari last year, Sary is digitizing wholesale grocery shopping in Saudi, enabling users to buy groceries in bulk directly from wholesalers instead of grocery stores or hypermarkets.
The platform is available as a mobile app only and works pretty much like any other grocery delivery app but lists bulk quantities of all the products in addition to the single pieces. So for any product that a user wants to buy, they see it listed as a single piece and in bulk quantity (with better prices for the bulk quantity).
Once they’ve added all the products to their cart, they can choose one of the available delivery slots (same/next day) on the app. Sary currently seems to be charging $2.67 (SAR 10) as a flat delivery fee on all orders.
The concept of bulk grocery shopping is not new to consumers in Saudi. Many families have been doing it for years and that’s what Sary is banking on. They’re targeting middle-class families in the country who like to buy groceries in bulk quantity. The startup also sees small businesses as its potential customers.
Sary currently serves users in Saudi’s Eastern Province (Dammam/Khobar) only but plans to use the investment to expand across different cities.
We could not confirm but it seems that the startup is currently using a network of freelancers to deliver the orders.
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