Purple-clad people on scooters are whirring down the streets of Brookline, bringing filet mignon, snacks and fresh produce to residents in under 10 minutes. The online, rapid grocery delivery company Getir has arrived in the Boston area, and it's got plans for expansion.
After a quick, and a bit rocky, Boston rollout in mid-December, Getir has locations in Brookline, Brighton, Somerville and downtown Boston. BostInno visited Getir’s Brookline location to learn how the delivery service operates and its plans for the year ahead.
Inside a nondescript building at 9 Harvard St. in Brookline, an audible ding draws a Getir employee’s eyes to a new order. The employee pulls up a terminal, Getir’s proprietary technology that manages customer orders, explained Ethan Cranley, Getir’s head of operations in Boston and New York.
The employee will grab a bag and head into a separate room that looks like a convenience store, with rows of fridges stocked with vegetables, bottled drinks and meats, alongside shelves of chips, salad dressings and aluminum foil. After walking through the aisles and placing products in a purple bag, the packer will walk to the front of the store and hand it off to a delivery person.
The driver secures the products in a case on the back of a scooter or bike, pops on a helmet and rides off, following directions on a phone secured on the handlebars. By the time the order lands on the customer’s front steps, only 10 minutes should have passed since the order was placed.
The products in each store are shaped by customer demand, Cranley said.
“We can change and kind of update what we offer to customers pretty live time,” he said. “For Valentine’s Day, (we were able to) offer chocolates and flowers.”
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Getir’s expansion into Boston has not been seamless. The company began delivering food in January without obtaining a health permit, according to a Boston Globe report, and didn’t contract for trash removal at its Downtown Crossing location.
Cranley said these issues have been rectified.
“We’re compliant,” he said, adding that the company doesn’t want to be “disrupting” the city and community and is working with city officials.
Boston is Getir’s third U.S. location following Chicago and New York, which saw sites open in November and December, Cranley said. The Turkish company was founded in 2015 by Nazim Salur, who serves as CEO. In 2021, Getir expanded into Europe. The company said it operates in nine countries, including 81 cities in Turkey and almost 50 cities in the other countries.
The company’s business model does not revolve around high markups on the food, Cranley said, but on delivery fees, minimum basket sizes and profits from the purchased products.
Around 200 people work for Getir in Boston. Cranley said all are employees rather than contractors, meaning they can choose to work part time or full time and are eligible for benefits.
While Cranley said he couldn’t provide specifics on the opening of new locations, he said the company is interested in expanding inside and outside of Boston, including the north and south shores.
“We’re willing to explore that. Wherever customers are, and wherever we see potentially an opportunity for us, we’re totally open to it,” he said. “Over the next year and beyond, I’d definitely expect expansion out of us, but at what rate and where is a little bit more to be determined.”
