Dive Brief:

• Ultrafast firm Buyk announced on Tuesday plans to expand its private label line, which launched in December, and said it has landed an exclusive partnership with national butcher Pat LaFrieda to sell pork, chicken and beef products.  
• The soon-to-launch private label items include "ultra-premium" ice cream, coffee, artisan smoked salmon products, candies, snacks and more baked goods like cookies and bagels, according to an emailed press release and interview with CEO James Walker. 
• Gopuff, FastAF and Gorillas in Europe have also recently announced private label or exclusive partnerships. In the fiercely competitive instant needs space, those offerings can help differentiate selection, lock in customer loyalty and potentially boost margins.

Dive Insight:

In Buyk's quest to deepen customer loyalty through private label, the company is tapping into an area grocers have long invested in to improve their sales. 

“Consumer passion is driving our accelerated focus on private label," Walker said. "There is certainly a benefit to margin as well."

After launching last month with baked artisan breads and French-style pastries, Buyk is adding more products to its private label selection, with major accelerations planned for February and March, Walker said. The company is working to have a "wide assortment" by the beginning of the second quarter of this year and then continuing to build from there, with the goal of having private label account for 40% of its product mix, Walker said. Insider first reported Buyk's planned private label expansion. 

The "By BUYK" tab in the startup's app houses all of the its private label offerings. The soon-to-launch all-natural ice creams, which have high butterfat, natural vanilla and pure cane sugar, will come in vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, cookie crunch, cookie dough and several yet-to-be-announced flavors, Walker said. In addition to its desserts, snacks and coffees, Buyk is also looking at a beverage line extension.

The artisan breads launched in December are priced at market level for those types of premium products. As the company's private label selection grows, Buyk aims to launch value-focused products as well as premium ones, Walker noted. 

"There is room for value based products that offer value in size, in price and also products like that line of artisan breads we launched in December," he said.

Several other quick grocery firms have turned to private label or exclusive product deals. 

Earlier this week, Gopuff announced its first private label line, Basically, which includes bottled water, snacks, batteries, paper products and other household essentials. The convenience delivery company also plans to create a line of snacks under the Basically, Amazing brand in the coming weeks and add more private label products and lines later this year.

Gopuff has reportedly filed trademarks for prescription medication and testing devices like blood pressure monitors and may debut a snack line called Good Eat'N and eventually perishable goods like meat under its Basically, Amazing line, according to The Information, which first reported on the company’s private label plans. 

Before its foray into private label, Gopuff announced late last year an exclusive flavor of ice cream with Frutero and, separately, three exclusive pizza varieties developed with Truff, a company that makes luxury pantry staples. 

FastAF, a quick commerce firm for premium products, has focused on exclusive brand partnerships, while Fridge No More is considering private label, The Information reported. In Europe, Gorillas has entered a number of partnerships that give it access to private lable products and exclusive items. 

Brittain Ladd, an advisor to the rapid grocery delivery industry and former Amazon executive, recently shared online strong support for quick grocery delivery players to consider a multi-category private label strategy for a competitive edge, but cautioned that they must first address "excessive cash burn" and have a steady supply of capital.