Metro60: Milkrun founder Dany Milham not fazed by Woolworths new delivery service

A race is on for the hearts, minds and wallets of the eastern suburbs, with Woolworths launching its own app exclusively in the eastern suburbs for 60-minute grocery delivery.

Founder of instant delivery app Milkrun Dany Milham says his start-up is ready to take on supermarket giant Woolworths, which this week announced it was launching a 60 minute delivery service exclusively for eastern suburbs residents.

The company has a “far superior delivery experience for our customers,” Mr Milham told the Wentworth Courier.

The rich lister and serial founder – who recently shared his secrets to business success at a Waverley Council business forum – has more than a minor stake in the area as a Tamarama local himself.

After founding mattress company Koala, Mr Milham launched Milkrun in 2021 with the delivery business transporting fresh grocery items and essentials to residents in inner city suburbs in ten minutes or less.

“Our explosive growth in the category is a clear example of what consumers prefer,” Mr Milham said.

Woolworths Metro60 will service the eastern suburbs initially before expanding across Sydney. Photo: supplied.

Woolworths announced on Wednesday it would debut an online app that would allow customers to order grocery items that would be delivered to them in 60 minutes or fewer.

The supermarket giant has chosen 11 suburbs on the eastern beaches to launch its super-fast delivery service – to be known as Metro60 – which seeks to take advantage of the popularity of instant delivery companies like Milkrun and established restaurant services like UberEats and Deliveroo.

MILKRUN founder and CEO Dany Milham. Photo: supplied.

More than 4000 products will be on offer across categories like healthy lunches, fruit, meat, dairy, pet, health, flower arrangements, and baby products.

The Woolworths delivery service has launched in 11 Sydney eastern suburbs, including Bondi, North Bondi, Bondi Beach, Vaucluse, Rose Bay, Dover Heights, Bellevue Hill, Point Piper, Darling Point, Double Bay, and Bondi Junction.

Woolworths chief transformation officer Von Ingram said Metro60 was “a game changer for the occasions where customers are tight on time and can’t make it to a Woolworths Supermarket or Metro store, but need something in a hurry.”

But Mr Milham said he believed bigger was not always better when it came to the e-commerce space.

“Large traditional retail businesses always struggle to make e-commerce profitable, let alone instant delivery,” Mr Milham said.

Woolworths has been growing its digital business and weekly shopping delivery service since it grew in popularity during the Covid pandemic.

“This is because of the large infrastructure and costs associated with their retail operations where they have zero delivery costs to customers,” he said.

“Our model has smaller footprint locations, lower rent cost, lower staff costs, and lower delivery costs by using electric bikes instead of vans and cars.”

Mr Milham said his business had a strong customer base in the eastern suburbs.

“Our business is centred around our customers – we speak to them everyday and constantly improve our service,” Mr Milham said, who he did not believe would opt for the supermarket giant over established brand loyalty.

“This has been a core driver in our success in the eastern suburbs where we already have a loyal and strong customer base.”