67. Shoply

Founder: John Robertson
Founded: 2016
Website: www.shoply.co.uk

You know that feeling when you really want to shop local and support small businesses, but you just can’t be bothered? When that nice shop down the road sells exactly what you need, but it’s drizzling and you can just order the same stuff online?

This is not a new problem. It is at least four years old, hence why John Robertson came up with Drinkly way back in 2016. People will pay for convenience – that is a fact, and Robertson has taken this fact and absolutely gone with it.

Drinkly core focus used to be drinks-on-demand, delivering chilled beers, wines, and spirits to booze-thirsty households in Edinburgh. Within three years, it had broken its Edinburgh boundaries, sprouting in Glasgow and all the way down to London. December 2019 saw the company rake in a mightily lucrative crowdfund (£250,000), and by Spring 2020 Drinkly had spawned a brother: Shoply. At last, it was food and drink on the menu.

It’s the ideal collaboration. Charming, local high-street shops and independent businesses provide the goods, while Drinkly/Shoply provides the online sales platform. Millennials are tech-savvy but time-poor, and Robertson has plugged the gap.

There are over 20 retailers on Shoply, but the company is targeting a total of 150 by the end of this year. Cop that!