Dive Brief:

• Ultrafast delivery startup Gorillas in the U.S. has partnered with nutrition app Wellory, the delivery startup announced in a blog post on Tuesday.
• Wellory’s nutritionists will share several “vegetable-forward” shoppable recipes on Gorillas’ app and blog during January, per the blog post. The recipes include veggie stir-fry noodles, zucchini lasagna rolls, lemon garlic fish and Greek chicken lettuce cups with avocado tzatziki. 
• The partnership comes at a time when rapid delivery firms are competing for market share in the U.S. and looking to differentiate their offerings to consumers. 

Dive Insight:

Teaming up with Wellory, a self-described "anti-diet nutrition coaching app," is a way for Gorillas to differentiate its offerings and lean into the food-as-medicine trend that food retailers are prioritizing as they look to attract health-conscious shoppers. 

The Gorillas and Wellory partnership also comes at the start of the year when grocers, including Whole Foods Market and Natural Grocers, are leveraging marketing and campaigns around healthy eating to draw in consumers, especially ones focused on nutrition as part of their New Years’ goals.

To incentive shoppers to use Gorillas for the recipes, the companies are offering a $15 promo code for people's first four orders of at least $20. 

Since bringing 10-minute delivery to the U.S. last May, Germany-based Gorillas has seen a quick rise of other ultrafast firms promising grocery and convenience items in 20 minutes or less. In the intense scramble for market share and funding, these firms are looking for ways to stand out, with some, like Buyk, indicating interest in launching private label items, and others, like Gopuff, spotlighting local products.

Gorillas is facing competition not only on the speediness of delivery but also with geographic reach. Delivery companies like Getir, Fridge No More and Jokr are expanding outside New York City — the original battleground for rapid delivery firms — and heading into cities like Chicago and Boston. Late last year, 10-minute firm Getir, which is based in Turkey, arrived in the U.S., bringing its service to Chicago, Boston and New York City before the end of the year.

Gorillas, meanwhile, said in September it had put its U.S. expansion plans on pause for the rest of 2021 to deepen its roots in the Big Apple. In October, Gorillas announced it raised nearly $1 billion in a Series C funding round led by German-based food-delivery service Delivery Hero, which gave it roughly 8% ownership of Gorillas. While its unclear if or how Gorillas will use the funding to venture into new cities, the delivery firm said it aims to bolster its operations in existing markets.