A new independent online supermarket banner, Macai, has launched in Italy, claiming to be the 'first 100% digital supermarket' in the country, reports the daily Corriere della Sera.
The product assortment offered by the platform is similar to that of classic supermarkets and includes bread, pasta, milk, eggs, meat, fish, sweets, snacks, wines, beverages, frozen food, fruit, vegetables, as well as children's’, home care and personal hygiene items.
The company offers over 2,000 SKUs with guaranteed delivery within 24-48 hours and will be initially available in the cities of Milan and Turin, the report said.
The Service
Customers can avail of the service by placing a minimum order worth €70 and an additional shipping fee of €5.90, payable through credit cards, debit cards or PayPal.
It provides contactless delivery and orders placed at noon and beyond are delivered the following day, or within 48 hours, the report said.
Macai is the brainchild of Italian entrepreneurs Giovanni Cavallo, Lorenzo Lelli and Edoardo Tribuzio who launched the MyMenu food delivery app seven years ago, targeting medium to high-end consumers in Padua, Verona, Milan, Brescia, Bologna and Modena.
Hybrid Model
Speaking to Corriere della Sera, Cavallo explained that Macai is a hybrid model or a combination of the e-commerce services of large-scale retailers and delivery platforms such as Glovo and Deliveroo.
The difficulties encountered in recent weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic by leading retailers with their e-commerce platforms motivated the development of Macai, which operates exclusively on the internet “thus encouraging greater flexibility in the management of orders”.
According to Cavallo, 70% of Macai’s assortment consists of "mass market" products, but it also focuses on quality products, such as artisan pasta, prestigious wines, and award-winning cheese, which are difficult to find in a standard supermarket.
The company's future goals include the expansion of the service to other parts of Italy and increasing the product assortment to over 10,000 SKUs, the report added.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
