Retailer Carrefour buys French meal kit delivery startup Quitoque

French retailer Carrefour has acquired a majority take in Quitoque, a French startup that delivers meal kits to homes, in a bid to bolster its digital offering.

Carrefour CEO Alexandrew Bompar is trying to revamp the company’s French supermarket business and online retail service in the facing of ever-growing competition from e-retailers such as Amazon. 

The world’s second largest retailer announced that it is going to invest EU€2.8bn in digital commerce by 2020, six times its current investment. 

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The latest acquisition of Quitoque aligns Carrefour with its ambition to become an “omnichannel universe of reference”, according to the company. 

By using a subscription system, French company Quitoque offers varied and healthy recipes to be prepared at home with local, organic and seasonal ingredients. 

Founded four years ago, the startup delivers nearly three million meals throughout France. 

Speaking of the acquisition, Marie Cheval, Executive Director Customers, Services and Digital Transformation said: “Carrefour constantly strives to be closer to its customers and to enrich the shopping experience by offering innovative services that simplify everyday shopping. 

He added: “At the crossroads of digital and food, Quitoque will enable us to strengthen our position in the Foodtech industry in order to provide an omnichannel response to new consumer habits through the combination of proximity, convenience and quality,” said at Carrefour.

As well as this, Carrefour has also announced that is hoping to use blockchain-based technology to enhance the traceability of its chickens. 

Customers will be able to use their smartphones to scan a QR code on the package and obtain information added by farmers and producers which explains how the chickens were raised, what they were fed and how the meat was processed.