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Trunkrs is a leading parcel delivery company in the Netherlands | Image Credit: Trunkrs

Trunkrs, the Netherlands-based startup offering same-day and next-day delivery to webshops, has raised €15M in a Series B funding round. The funding round was led by Korys, the Belgian investment company of the Colruyt family.

The Series B round also saw participation from VP Capital, the family office of the Van Puijenbroek family. The round also saw Amsterdam-based SET Ventures extend its investment after the firm had participated in a funding round in October, 2020, according to Crunchbase.

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Trunkrs: what you need to know

Fast delivery has become a norm in the e-commerce industry but a number of webshops and other specialty retailers struggle with fast delivery. Based in Utrecht and founded in 2015 by Dimitri Balai and Jan Wijn, Trunkrs is a leading parcel delivery partner for e-commerce players in the Netherlands.

It is used by a number of webshops, including Mediamarkt’s webshop in the country. While there are a number of parcel delivery startups, Trunkrs does this with a focus on sustainability. The primary focus of Trunkrs is to ensure that its own footprint remains small in the last mile delivery process.

To achieve this, it relies on use of existing delivery trucks and distribution centres, which is in stark contrast to most players building their own network. Apart from this, Trunkrs also invests in the electrification of vehicle fleets maintained by its partners.

Jan Wijn, CEO of Trunkrs, says, “Within our sector, we are active accelerators in increasing sustainability. Thanks to the investment by Korys, VP Capital and SET Ventures we are able to strengthen our position as market leader in the Netherlands and expand our market presence in Belgium, so that Belgian webshops can profit from our fast and reliable parcel delivery. This will increase our impact and that makes us proud.”

The importance of fast delivery or same day delivery cannot be neglected in the competitive e-commerce landscape. McKinsey observed the need for the logistics landscape to evolve and overcome obstacles to offer same-day delivery way back in 2014. “Same-day delivery has the potential to fundamentally change the way we shop. It integrates the convenience of online retail with the immediacy of bricks-and-mortar stores,” authors of McKinsey study wrote.

Trunkrs not only makes same-day or next-day delivery possible for webshops and other e-commerce players in the Netherlands but also helps these brands to remain competitive against larger players in the market.

Investors

The Series B round of Trunkrs was led by Korys, which is the investment company of the Colruyt family. In addition to its significant participation in the Colruyt Group, a leading retail company in Belgium and France, Korys also manages participation in privately held companies and in private equity funds.

Korys has more than €4.5B of assets under management and has been looking at long-term investment with focus on life sciences, energy transition, and conscious consumer.

Trunkrs expanded to Flanders in 2021 and the new funding will be used to expand its position in the Benelux market. The parcel delivery company also plans to use its investment to accelerate increased sustainability within the parcel delivery chain.

“We are extremely enthusiastic about investing in this fast growing premium delivery service,” says Brieuc de Hults, Investment Director at Korys.

Hults adds that Trunkrs is already the leader in the Netherlands and Korys plans to help the parcel delivery company become market leader in the Belgian market as well.

“This investment will allow Trunkrs to stimulate the electrification of parcel delivery even further and to realise greater reductions of CO2 emissions in the ever growing e-commerce market. Our evaluation has also shown that Trunkrs holds their partners to high standards regarding working conditions and sustainability,” says Guus van Puijenbroek, Director of VP Capital.

“Besides a good business idea, access to sufficient capital is essential for a company to be successful,” says René Savelsberg, Managing Partner at SET Ventures. “This funding round enables Trunkrs to expand geographically and simultaneously, it allows them to work on their impact goal, which we value greatly as a company.”