Zapp delivery

Source: Zapp

On-demand grocery delivery app Zapp has appointed Ajay Lakhwani as its senior VP of commercial.

Lakhwani has joined the rapid grocer from Deliveroo, where he had been for two-and-a-half years, most recently as global VP for groceries and commercial partnerships. At Deliveroo he was responsible for the company’s delivery deals with supermarkets and convenience retailers.

Prior to Deliveroo, Lakhwani led the Amazon Fresh and Prime Now ambient business at Amazon UK. He has also served as a director at Kerry Group.

At Zapp, he will lead the commercial team, with a remit including partnerships, procurement and catalogue.

“With over 19 years experience across various roles at global fmcg companies, Lakhwani is well positioned to lead Zapp’s commercial team across its markets globally,” Zapp said.

Zapp launched in London in late 2020, with a single dark store – or ‘Zappstore’ – and has now established locations in Manchester, Cambridge, Bristol, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Paris. Operations are supported by an all-electric fleet and employed delivery riders.

Zapp’s founders are Joe Falter, who was part of the founding team at Jumia, where he led the on-demand services business through to the group’s IPO, and Navid Hadzaad, who most recently was a product leader at Amazon’s Seattle HQ after founding GoButler and scaling several ventures at Rocket Internet. The leadership team also spans former employees of Deliveroo, Just Eat, Domino’s and Tesco.

The company has raised $100m in funding to date.