“We see ourselves as a partner to retailers”

Wolt aims to be the app for everything. Not another Amazon, Alibaba or Temu, but a company that works closely with retailers to help them compete with the big internet platforms.

Wolt started out in Helsinki in 2015 as a restaurant delivery service. From the outset, the company guaranteed to deliver its customers’ orders to their homes or workplaces in just 35 minutes. This was well received by the market from the outset, and now Wolt’s couriers not only deliver food, but also groceries, medication from pharmacies, furniture, flowers and much more. And last but not least, pet products. Wolt is active in 29 countries and more than 1 000 cities worldwide. The Finns are even present with their delivery service in Japan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Israel.

What Wolt delivers depends heavily on the location. In Berlin, you can even order electronics and clothes from Wolt. “Greece is a very strong market for us. There is almost nothing that we don’t deliver there,” says Bassel Soukar, Head of Retail at Wolt Enterprises Germany, in a video chat with PET worldwide.

Pet is a category of great importance for Wolt. “We offer pet food and accessories in almost all markets where we are represented,” emphasises Soukar. Young pet owners and families with animals are among Wolt’s main clientele. Most of them remain loyal to the company over a longer period of time and gradually expand their shopping basket.

Wolt Drive is still a relatively new offering. It allows end customers to place orders via the app and/or the online store of the business partner. They then receive the goods in less than an hour. With this offering, Wolt is positioning itself as a fast and reliable last-mile delivery provider under the motto “From your store to your doorstep”.

Another Wolt offering is Wolt+. This is a subscription programme where members pay no fee for delivery from restaurants and stores. They also benefit from additional discounts on special items and 5 per cent cashback on pick-up orders in most of the countries where Wolt operates. The company also operates its own grocery stores.