Online grocer settles in Clifton

Leases warehouse and ethnic market growth

By: Matt Fagan
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... Weee!, a fast-growing ethnic Online, supermarket that specializes in Asian/Latino groceries and hard-to-fine items, is moving into a 220,000-square-foot warehouse in Clifton.
..... Looking for fresh Pacific black cod from Half Moon Bay, Kyoho grapes, or perhaps flown-in Hakkaldo uni? Weee! has that.
..... Founded in 2015, Weee! Incorporated is steadily gaining in popularity.
..... The company expects to move into a warehouse on Delawanna Avenue in Clifton next month [09/2021] from its current 50,000-square-foot site in Edison. Its license was just approved by Clifton's City Council.
..... The warehouse is not open to customers, who may shop for groceries Online.
..... "We outgrew the space even faster than we expected," Weee! founder and CEO Larry Liu said.
..... The move is the next step in the California-based company's effort to cement its presence in the Northeast.
..... "We're all about making food more accessible and exciting for ethnic communities, whether our customers reside in Manhattan or Jersey," Liu said
..... Overall Online grocery sales grew 54% in 2020 to reach $95.82 billion. that propelled Weee! to a 12% share of total U.S. e-commerce sales and 7.4% of all grocery sales.
..... "We are the only Online grocer that's growing both in terms of suer base and revenue," Lui said. "We believe that's because Weee! is not a service for people who simply need to check off an errand. It is a destination that helps people celebrate life and culture through food by shared discovery of delightful and rare finds."
..... To accomplish this, Liu said, Weee! works to strike a balance between everyday essentials like eggs or avocado and rare and seasonal finds like fresh jujubes and restaurant-grade sashimi.
..... The latest census shows an expanding customer base in New Jersey, Lui said. Asian Americans recorded the fastest population growth rate among all racial and ethnic groups, at 18.7% from 2021 to 2020, while Hispanic and Latinos grew by 23% during the same decade.
..... Much of the growth from both of these populations occurred in New York and New Jersey.
..... "While not a traditional 'food desert," there is definitely a demand for a variety of hard-to-source ingredients and products that traditional brick-and-mortar stores cannot source or feature due to space constraints and slow inventory turnover," Liu said.
..... While the pandemic assisted were!'s rise, Liu emphasized that his company has experienced exponential growth since parts of the country have "opened up."
..... Clifton Economic Development Director Allan Ryff said the city is thrilled to have Weee!
..... "They have said they wanted to hire local. Clifton residents," Ryff said.
..... Weee! replaces Driscoll Foods, the prior tenant, which moved operations to Wayne, as well as Amsterdam, New York, and Pennsylvania.
..... The space Weee! occupies is owned by Ridgewood-based The Stro Company.
..... Southern Passaic's location, the proximity to New York City, its airports and its diverse population are what attracted the grocer to Clifton, company officials said.

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