The trading company KoRo expands its operations in Europe

• KoRo is currently active in 18 European countries and launched operations in 8 new markets in 2021
• Total revenues of the company in 2021 were €62 million (CAGR 2019–2021: 230 %)
• Focus 2022: Thanks to the diversification in sales and marketing, in 2022 the focus is on a steady growth in the european markets

Since its establishment in 2014, the trading company KoRo has recorded a steady growth. The company's mission is to offer consumers fair prices for high-quality goods and to bring the consumers closer to both the company's trading processes and to the producers and products through maximum transparency. This mission has helped the company grow its customers in the DACH region and since 2017 has been adopted successfully in the European countries as well. Currently KoRo is active in 18 European countries and has recorded outside of the DACH region (from 2019 to 2021) a growth of 1800% and a CAGR of 327%. Subsequently, in 2021, the total revenues of the organisation stand at €62m. The goal now is to stabilise European markets and allow them to grow steadily. KoRo has also been preparing to expand into the US market.

Great flexibility enables rapid expansion

KoRo is a classic D2C online brand that became famous in Germany by adopting influencer marketing strategies through Instagram. With a wide variety of product offerings and other vegan and vegetarian grocery products, KoRo believes that it has captured the market by following the right trends. According to a recent study, the global food sector in E-commerce is expected to reach a potential of $531.6M by 2025 (Source: Satista ECOMMERCE REPORT 2021). Thanks to efficient processes and a high degree of flexibility in packaging, sales and marketing, KoRo is ideally positioned for this growth. Since KoRo has outsourced many components, such as shipping, to partner companies and as the online shop can be set up quickly using internal resources, the company can manage to gain a foothold in new markets in a very short time. Following the investment of Social Chain AG in 2018, the company was able to expand into Europe just four years after its founding. COO Florian Schwenkert continued to drive this expansion from 2020, after joining the company.

“For entering an EU market, we need at least 3 months from doing research to the launch. Thanks to the unified structures in Europe, we can act faster as a company and start our sales in a new country with only one signature to register the domain. As our marketing is mainly focused on social media, we manage to establish a loyal customer base in a short time and at low cost." Florian Schwenkert, COO KoRo

For a young D2C company like KoRo social media continues to be an important marketing strategy: Even before the launch of a shop in a new market, KoRo starts with posting original and organic content on social media and thus arouses the interest of new customers. KoRo does not rely on external partners, but carries out its own market research and shop set-up, including translation and marketing. All of this is done internally, thereby allowing the company to remain flexible and make its own decisions quickly.

KoRo’s Mission: Become Europe’s preferred supplier for groceries and goods

In its European expansion, KoRo has focused on speed above all. Within 16 months, between 2021 and 2022, the online retailer launched in ten countries. This growth was possible due to the company's efficient project management and autonomy while implementing the programme. KoRo set up an in-house team to oversee all steps of the expansion. Between January 2021 and June 2022, sales outside the DACH region already accounted for 19% of the company's total sales. After the Greek shop went online in June 2022, KoRo has now completed its expansion in Europe for the time being and is focusing on maintaining growth in these markets, expanding influencer marketing and strengthening B2B contacts. In addition to the online shop, KoRo will also be available online and offline at other retailers in the future. In the DACH region, the company is already widely represented in the food retail sector, while in other European countries it is initially focusing on multichannel retail in cooperation with online retailers, including Amazon. Thanks to the latest investment in March 2022, amounting to a significant double-digit million sum from the renowned VCs HV Capital, Five Season Ventures and Partech, the company has new sources of financing for the expansion of its business in Europe.

"We see great potential in countries like Sweden - with a 45-fold growth within one year. In 2021 alone, we gained 389,000 new customers across Europe and processed around 800,000 orders. Currently, we can handle the order volume from our warehouse in Germany - but we are considering opening up further warehouses in neighbouring countries." Constantinos Calios, Founder and CEO KoRo

Recognising trends and adapting early

Even though, for the time being, the expansion in Europe has been completed KoRo would like to now focus on securing growth and continue to develop. KoRo is currently also working on entering the US market. However, the growth in the USA, unlike in Europe, cannot be managed from Germany. In the USA, KoRo has to completely rebuild its network of producers, suppliers and B2B customers and establish itself in the country.

"In the US, we have a very different starting point and a wider audience compared to Europe. Food trends are usually set in the States and take up to several months to arrive in Europe. We want to use our presence in the USA primarily to catch these trends faster and adapt them for the European market. KoRo stands for exciting products and a wide range - we want to expand this USP even more and stand out." Piran Asci, CEO KoRo

KoRo started in 2014 with the sale of detergent in bulk packs under the name "KoRo Drogerie". Since then, the company has developed rapidly and till 2021, in addition to its range in food retail, it has also been present offline - by opening an ice cream parlour in Kreuzberg, Berlin. This year, KoRo has been developing an ice cream parlour franchise and recently opened the KoRo Café at Alexanderplatz in Berlin. In addition, the company has been using new advertising channels since this summer and has placed its first TV commercials. KoRo has set itself on a mission of becoming Europe's leading food and goods company and is pursuing this with complete determination.

KoRo is active in: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the UK, the Netherlands, Poland, France, Finland, Italy, Denmark, Czech Republic, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Luxembourg, Ireland, Sweden.