It was the delivery company that we needed in lockdown, but with lockdowns and isolation periods lifted, ultrafast grocery delivery business MilkRun has closed its doors.

An abrupt end for MilkRun

Centring its services around delivery riders on bikes who are able to whip past traffic and make home deliveries in less than 15 minutes, the startup had a strong market start. With grocery store hubs all around CBD and inner-city suburbs in Sydney and Melbourne, the service was perfectly suited for those who got a surprise positive COVID result with an empty pantry.

Starting in September 2021, MilkRun’s founder Dany Milham was riding the wave of success of his delivery mattress company Koala. Milham announced the Australian first of ultrafast grocery, alcohol and household supplies to homes. Based of the US based Postmates, it had a promising start, with the company catching the attention of global VC firms which led Tiger Global Management to organise a $75 million fundraising round to support it.

However, with the worsening economic situation, MilkRun made a round of layoffs in February, spelling trouble for the company. It was also forced to drop its “10-minute guarantee delivery” promise as less riders were making more deliveries.

On 11 April 2023, Milham told the remaining MilkRun staff that the company will cease service on Friday 14 April 2023, blaming the worsening economic conditions.

“I’m writing to let you know that we have made the difficult decision to wind down the business, and as a result, MilkRun will cease trading this Friday,” Milham writes in an all-company email. 

“Since we announced our structural changes in February, economic and capital market conditions have continued to deteriorate, and while the business has continued to perform well, we feel strongly that this is the right decision in the current environment,” the email finishes.