Zabka

Żabka is a chain of convenience stores established in 1998 by Mariusz Świtalski. Its headquarters is based in Poznan, Poland. The company is owned by a Luxembourg-based private equity and investment advisory firm, CVC Capital Partners.  

Moreover, the business attracts around 15.5 million customers in its 8,489 stores across the country and an application has been created which offers the “order and collect service”. Besides, Zabka has 7,000 franchisees as well. 

In the financial year 2020, Zabka achieved a turnover of €2 billion and its sales increased by 19% as compared to the previous year. Currently, the firm employs more than 45,000 people. 

It is noteworthy that the company won the Food & Retail Award 2021 in the Retail category organised by PTWP SA Group. 

Furthermore, the enterprise offers a large variety of goods in the following categories: 

• Chilled & fresh: fresh juices, delicatessens, ready meals, etc. 
• Dairy: yoghurts, milk, cream cheese, etc. 
• Frozen: ice creams, ready meals, potato fries, etc. 
• Sweet grocery: chocolates, candies, snacks, etc. 
• Savoury grocery: snacks, biscuits, ketchup, etc. 
• Drinks: juices, water, fizzy drinks, etc. 
• Wine & Spirits: beers, wines, champagnes, etc. 
• Personal care: vitamin supplements and deodorants. 

Brands such as Oreo, Pepsi, Fuze Tea, Lays, Doritos, Lipton, Milka, Haribo, Mentos, Magnum, Rexona and many others are endorsed by the firm. 

Moreover, Zabka also developed its private label products under the following names (non-exhaustive list): 

• Szamamm: A line dedicated to ready meals. 
• S!: A line dedicated to concentrated juices. 
• Foodini: A line dedicated to juices. 
• Haps: A line dedicated to snacks. 

In addition, Zabka maintains the highest quality standards as it is certified by ISO 22000, ISO 9001, IFS, BRC Global Standard and many more. 

Pertaining to its logistics solutions, the business operates fully automated distribution centres and has its own fleet of electric vehicles to ensure deliveries.  

As of 2021, the food service became the first company in Poland to have its decarbonisation goals in its responsibility (esg) strategy, scientifically verified and approved by the international initiative Science Based Targets (SBTi). 

Moreover, the company signed an agreement with Paysafe in 2021 to give Polish people increased access to online cash. 

Additionally, Zabka overtook Amazon in the European race for autonomous stores by launching 25 stores under the Zabka Nano and Zaapka banners in January 2022. The firm uses contactless, AI-powered computer vision technology from U.S tech player Aifi which is a bit similar to Amazon’s Just Walk Out set-up and this concept enables shopping to be checkout-free and fast. 

Furthermore, the convenience chain partnered with DHL so that parcels can be sent from Zabka stores or by DHL courier.  

In June 2022, the company partnered with Krakow tech firm VeloxAlpha SA to launch the country’s first hot dog-making robot. 

Concerning sustainability, Zabka protects the environment by eliminating plastic bags and replacing them with biodegradable and paper bags. 

Zabka’s application can be accessed on: https://zakupy.zabka.pl/