Oda’s Norwegian online store, which has about two thousand Berliners, has started a test phase in Germany at the beginning of 2023. Now the company is expanding its business to the whole of Berlin. “During the testing phase we were able to collect valuable feedback on our processes, delivery charges and range and are now starting to serve better,” confirms Malte Nousch, Managing Director of Oda Germany.
Since February 16, Oda has been supplying the entire Berlin city district, from Spandau to Köpenick, the Norwegians have now announced. The retailer wants to relieve Berliners from shopping and give them more time for the finer things in life. Consumers currently spend about three hours shopping per week, and only 11 percent regularly use online supermarkets. Oda wants to change that now. “Unser Ziel is es, mit einem vielfältigen Sortiment und einem kompromisslos guten service das Alltagsleben aller Berliner: innen zu erleichtern und ihnen mehr Zeit für die schönen Dinge im Leben zu schenken – ganz gleich ob Single-Haushalt, WG oder Großfamilie”, so Nousch tracking.
Collaboration with local producers and emerging food companies
Oda currently offers its customers a range of about 9,000 items, which is expected to increase to 12,000 products in the coming months. About a quarter of the suppliers are regional and local producers. In addition, Oda collaborates with many emerging food companies from Berlin and all over Germany. These include Berlin-based frozen food startup Every Foods, vegan cheese maker Mondarella, and Munich-based Happy Ocean.
“We want to offer our customers the widest possible range of affordable products. As a purely online supermarket, our operations are also designed to conserve resources and process orders efficiently. We achieve this through targeted use of automation and optimal ordering and delivery route planning. Thanks to shortened supply chains We have, we can also work directly with regional producers,” Malte Nousch explains the concept.
Expansion of planning
The online supermarket is currently still operating with slightly limited capacities and delivery times. Orders are delivered Monday to Saturday 9am to 10pm, in the long run the time window will be extended to 6am and 10pm. Currently, about 40 drivers deliver products to the customer no later than the next day, and same-day delivery services will also be introduced in the future.
Further expansion is also planned. Initially, customers in the Berlin region will be supplied by Oda. Mid-sized cities in the Berlin region up to 2.5 hours’ drive away will later be included in the delivery area of the Norwegian online supermarket via smaller distribution centres.