French supermarket giant Carrefour has completed the acquisition of a start-up that delivers lunches to office workers in a bid to expand its grocery ecommerce offering.

The grocer announced today that it had completed the purchase of start-up Dejbox, which Carrefour said would bring it both “a new product segment” in ready-to-eat meals and a “new customer base” in the form of business to employees.

Founded in 2015, Dejbox is a French online canteen for employees, which currently operates in a number of French cities including Paris, Lyon, Nantes and Grenoble, as well as hundreds of smaller towns in the surrounding regions.

It currently employs some 300 staff, including 140 food preparers and delivery personnel who are directly employed by Dejbox – which Carrefour said set it apart from its competitors which all “rely heavily on gig-economy workers”.

As part of the acquisition, Carrefour said it would look to expand Dejbox’s “French operations at a rapid pace and very quickly move into international markets as well”.

The supermarket said its acquisition of Dejbox also put it in a position to capitalise on the “recent trend towards food delivery, particularly among millennials”.

Carrefour’s executive director of customers, services and digital transformation, AmĂ©lie OudĂ©a-CastĂ©ra, said: “This acquisition, which reflects Carrefour’s desire to become the leader in grocery ecommerce, is a strategic one.

“It will give us the opportunity to expand our customer base to include employees of medium-sized, small and micro businesses and also invest in the fast-growing food delivery segment with an offering rooted in quality and affordability.”

Carrefour did not disclose the financial terms of the acquisition.

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