The archive · Commerce & Marketplaces · Strategic decision · 2021-2026
Daki's bet: 15-minute groceries only pay off after the unicorn shrinks
Brazil's Daki hit US$1.2B in ten months, lost 40% in 2023, then retrenched to two metros and reached breakeven in 2026.
Daki
What the business is
Daki is a Brazilian quick-commerce company founded in early 2021 that delivers supermarket goods from its own distribution centers and urban stores, originally within 15 minutes. Since 2024 it has also sold through the iFood and Uber apps, and it now focuses on the São Paulo and Belo Horizonte metropolitan areas.
How it started
Daki was founded in Brazil in early 2021 by Rafael Vasto, Alex Bretzner and Rodrigo Maroja, during the pandemic, promising supermarket delivery in at most 15 minutes with the money back if it failed. New York-based quick-commerce group JOKR bought Daki in June 2021 to expand in Latin America, and by December 2021, ten months after founding, Daki was valued at US$1.2 billion - the region's youngest unicorn - with about 60 dark stores.
What happened
Expansion then met the market's turn: after euphoria faded, a late-2023 round valued Daki at about US$800 million, nearly 40% below its peak, and investors pressed for a route to profit. Daki closed its Rio de Janeiro network, cut from roughly 70 dark stores to 50, concentrated on the São Paulo metro area and Belo Horizonte, ended free delivery and its all-bike promise, and stretched delivery windows to 20-25 minutes. In February 2024 iFood shut its own quick-commerce vertical and made Daki its delivery partner; in September 2024 Daki signed a similar deal with Uber. The company promised breakeven by the end of 2024.
How it ended up
By May 2026 Daki said it had reached breakeven - its first positive EBITDA since launching - with about R$1 billion in annualized revenue, growth above 50% a year, three large distribution centers and 40 urban centers concentrated in the São Paulo and Belo Horizonte metros. iFood bought a minority stake of under 5%, and CEO Rafael Vasto said Daki would announce entry into new Brazilian regions by the end of 2026, arguing digital grocery still holds a single-digit share of a market worth more than R$1 trillion.
Background
Daki was founded in Brazil in early 2021 by Rafael Vasto, Alex Bretzner and Rodrigo Maroja to deliver supermarket goods in at most 15 minutes. New York-based quick-commerce group JOKR bought the startup in June 2021, and in December 2021, ten months after founding, Daki was valued at US$1.2 billion, making it Latin America's youngest unicorn, with about 60 dark stores.
The model was speed at any cost: free delivery, an all-bike fleet, a money-back promise and more dark stores in more cities. When investor euphoria faded, a late-2023 round cut Daki's value by nearly 40% to about US$800 million. It left Rio de Janeiro, shrank from roughly 70 dark stores to 50, concentrated on São Paulo and Belo Horizonte, ended free delivery and stretched delivery windows to 20-25 minutes.
Retreat became partnership: in February 2024 iFood wound down its own quick-commerce vertical and made Daki its grocery partner, and in September 2024 Uber signed a similar deal. By May 2026 Daki said it had reached breakeven - its first positive EBITDA - with about R$1 billion in annualized revenue growing over 50% a year, and iFood bought a minority stake of under 5% to fund expansion into new Brazilian regions.
What has to be true
- Speed was a real wedge in 2021: 15-minute grocery delivery with a money-back promise was novel enough to pull orders online while incumbents were slow.
- The network race assumed growth would outrun cost; when capital got expensive, dark-store density became a liability instead of a moat.
- Survival came from shrinking to profitable density - two metros, fewer stores, no free delivery - and from renting distribution through iFood and Uber instead of buying it.
- Reaching breakeven on about R$1 billion of annualized revenue showed the demand was real; the question was always the cost per order.
What can be applied
A speed promise can buy attention but not unit economics: Daki only reached breakeven after it cut cities, closed dark stores, dropped free delivery and plugged into iFood and Uber for demand.
Aftermath
As of May 2026 Daki is private, profitable and expanding again: it reported breakeven - its first positive EBITDA since the 2021 launch - on roughly R$1 billion of annualized revenue growing more than 50% a year, with three distribution centers and 40 urban centers focused on São Paulo and Belo Horizonte. iFood holds a minority stake of under 5% and the operational partnership begun in 2024; Vasto said Daki would announce new Brazilian regions by end-2026, betting digital grocery can keep growing inside a market worth over R$1 trillion where online holds a single-digit share.
Sources
- Ex-unicórnio, Daki reduz rede e busca aliados para encurtar caminho até o breakeven
- Investimento do iFood na Daki vai para IA e expansão geográfica
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