Convenience delivery app goPuff launches in South Jersey

CHERRY HILL - Open the goPuff snack-delivery app and you can order Ben & Jerry's, Doritos, candy bars and just about anything else you're craving. 

But what the service really delivers is time, according to co-founder Yakir Gola, who expanded goPuff to his native Cherry Hill in September. 

"We're creating more time for people. The time it takes for you to go to the store and back is longer that it takes for goPuff to deliver," he said. "Most of our markets deliver between 20 and 30 minutes." 

Gola attended Drexel University in Philadelphia, where he launched a delivery service out of his dorm room with fellow student Rafael Ilishayev. 

Both children of entrepreneurs, the students "bootstrapped it," Gola said. "We had a 1,000-square-foot warehouse and did all the deliveries ourselves." 

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The company now operates across the country in cities including Boston, Seattle, Portland and Chicago. 

Cherry Hill is goPuff's 40th market in five years, and Gola, 25, acknowledges the company has grown at a "ridiculously fast rate."

"We're looking at expanding to three or four markets a month." 

Built for convenience 

GoPuff's newest 5,000-square-foot warehouse is a quick hop from Route 70, Interstate 295 and the New Jersey Turnpike. The location allows the company to serve a wide array of ZIP codes in South Jersey, delivering to Cherry Hill, Haddonfield, Haddon Township, Barrington, Tavistock, Collingswood, Lawnside, Marlton, Mount Laurel and Maple Shade.

Customers pay a $1.95 flat delivery fee, and merchandise is priced comparably to convenience-store items. 

It was natural to expand to this area, as some customers had already discovered goPuff in Philly, Gola said. 

"There's people who live in Cherry Hill, visit friends in the city and use the app, then they go back home and they're not able to use it." 

That's no longer the case for customers like Rachel L., who recently ordered a goPuff bag of goodies to help her and her co-workers through deadlines at a Haddonfield law office. 

"I've seen my friends use it in Center City," she said. "It's just easy. You don't have to run out and get snacks."

She added that she's "excited to get deliveries to my house" in Cherry Hill once she goes out on maternity leave in a few months. 

There are other food delivery apps out there, but goPuff is unique in that it controls its supply chain, Gola noted — drivers go directly from warehouse to customer without having to make other stops.

Besides, goPuff is really taking on the convenience stores. That's a bold move in South Jersey, but Gola said the busy, on-demand-oriented public is ready for it. 

"The way we look at it, people aren't planning as much as they used to. They are planning really fast ... when they can get something so fast, they'd rather spend more time at home with their family." 

On the other hand, Gola describes convenience-store shopping as a "broken process." 

"It's set for disruption in our opinion," said Gola, who added goPuff's average basket size is four times larger than that of an average convenience store. "We are literally changing behavior in the industry." 

CSP Daily News, a trade publication covering the convenience store industry, acknowledged the company's growing influence in a recent article. The headline? "5 reasons goPuff is more dangerous than Amazon." 

From dorm to crib 

Though goPuff was born at Drexel and the delivery service operates in many college towns, the customer base has grown up, Gola said. 

"Most of the customers are young professionals, people in their 30s." 

The convenience of on-demand delivery for food and household goods particularly resonates with new parents, he added. 

And football fans have discovered it too. 

"Sundays tend to be our biggest day," said Elizabeth Romaine, director of communications for goPuff. "People get up, and decide they're not moving." 

The colorful goPuff app and website have a millennial-friendly edge, with categories labeled "Eaaats," "Dranks" and the solid promise "Frozen AF" — frozen items are delivered in insulated bags. 

The company also rewards its young audience with promos and freebies on social media. 

Personal shoppers 

The Cherry Hill goPuff warehouse is neatly organized into shelves of snacks, paper items and household goods, along with the freezers that hold Bagel Bites, ice cream and other impulse items. 

The streamlined set-up isn't for shoppers, but for the employees who calmly but quickly leap into action when each order comes in. 

The inventory is designed to fill almost every last-minute need: toilet paper, birthday candles, can openers, condiments and condoms — even Halloween costume accessories. 

And goPuff is always adding items, particularly by request, Gola said. 

"Our customers are pretty vocal," he said. "They'll say, 'GoPuff, can you carry this?'" 

Customers might also find bonus sample items with their orders; it's a way that some snack companies like to test the market. 

"People really feel like they have a personal connection with us," added Romaine, who gets a kick out of customers' tweets about how goPuff saved their lives with a carton of ice cream or a bag of chips. 

Of course, the fun color-changing spoons that come with each ice cream order endear customers as well. 

The minimum goPuff order is $6.95, but the average customer spends $18 to $22. 

Many of goPuff's markets have 24-7 delivery service. For now, South Jersey orders are accepted from noon to 4:30 a.m. The majority of orders come in at night, after 8 or 9 p.m., Romaine said. 

Drivers, customers wanted 

Across its nationwide markets, goPuff operates 44 warehouses and employs 500, not including drivers, who are independent contractors. 

The company is now seeking drivers who would be based at the Cherry Hill warehouse. Drivers work based on their availability and get paid weekly. Candidates can learn more and apply at gopuff.com/job/driver. 

And to sweeten service for new customers, goPuff is taking $7 off first-time orders if you use the promo code CHERRYHILL. 

"We're really excited about Cherry Hill," Gola said, "and that more people are able to use goPuff." 

Sheri Berkery: @SheriBerkery; 856-486-2673; sberkery@gannettnj.com

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