Dive Brief:

• Gopuff announced on Thursday that it has named former Booking.com executive Bryan Batista to lead its international business strategy.
• As the company’s senior vice president of international, Batista will help drive expansion abroad as well as the growth of its business in existing markets outside the U.S., like London and Paris.
• The appointment comes as Gopuff looks to scale up in Europe, where instant delivery is even more widespread and competitive than in the U.S.

Dive Insight:

As international quick-commerce companies like Getir and Gorillas tap into the U.S. market, Gopuff is trying to crash their home markets in turn as it grows its convenience delivery empire.

To accelerate its growth in Europe and elsewhere abroad, the company is turning to a U.K.-based executive with experience scaling companies across the continent. Batista was previously CEO of Rentalcars.com, which is part of reservations company Booking.com. He joined Booking.com in 2014 and held various roles, including vice president of corporate development, in which he led mergers and acquisitions. Batista also built and oversaw high-level partnerships for the company as senior director of global partnerships, according to a corporate biography.

Before working at Booking.com, Batista held positions with Tesla Motors in the U.S. and Europe.

“Bryan's deep expertise scaling companies around the world will be invaluable as we bring the Gopuff experience to new customers and markets worldwide,” Yakir Gola, co-founder and co-CEO of Gopuff, said in a statement.

After operating in the U.S. since 2013, Gopuff kicked off its international expansion last year with the acquisitions of U.K.-based delivery services Dija and Fancy. The company formally launched its brand in the U.K. in November and by December accounted for about 40% market share among convenience delivery services in that country, according to data from research firm Yipit. 

The Dija acquisition, which was announced last summer, also brought Gopuff into parts of France and Spain. 

In an interview with Grocery Dive in December, Daniel Folkman, Gopuff’s senior vice president of business, said the company plans to expand throughout Europe, but that its efforts in the near-term are focused on London and Paris.

“We think those are two key markets to winning in Europe,” he said.

Gopuff recently rolled out its first private label line. In the U.S., the company operates in markets across the country, including New York City, which has become a hive of activity among quick commerce firms. It’s off to a strong start, though: Gopuff formally launched service in the nation's largest city in October and by December had around 40% market share among convenience delivery players there, per Yipit data.