Russian technology giant Yandex has launched its ultra-fast grocery delivery service in Paris, the company said Tuesday.
The service — named Yandex Lavka in Russia — will operate under the brand name of “Yango Deli,” offering 15-minute grocery delivery to addresses across the French capital.
Paris marks the first European market the company is hoping to break into, following a launch in Israel at the end of 2020. The company plans to launch in London later this year.
The expansion follows a period of fast expansion for Russia’s online grocery services, seen by analysts as a segment of the market with vast potential.
Yandex’s rival Mail.Ru is planning to launch its Samokat rapid delivery service in New York City later this year.
The Paris service will cover an area home to around 1 million people upon launching and will soon expand into more areas across the city, the company said.
Yandex, initially developed as a Russian equivalent of Google, has aggressively expanded across Russia’s online space. It is now the country’s largest taxi operator in addition to running one of the largest e-commerce sites and fast food delivery networks in Russia. It is also pouring investment into areas ranging from self-driving cars to fast food delivery.
Revenues were up 54% in the first half of 2021 to 154 billion rubles ($2.1 billion), according to the company’s financial statements.
