Amazon’s ultra-fast delivery service in Brazil is seeing an unexpected appetite for perishable goods, a local executive said, and the company has responded by widening the selection offered through the platform. Since launching Amazon Now in parts of Brazil, Amazon has increased the available assortment on the service by about 15% and boosted its fruit and vegetable offerings, according to the company’s shopping experience director in Brazil.
Amazon introduced the Amazon Now concept in the United States last year, advertising deliveries in as little as 30 minutes in some urban pockets, and later rolled out the service to a range of international markets including Mexico, India, Japan and Britain. In Brazil the program marks Amazon’s first entry into fresh and frozen foods in that country, a market the company has identified as a priority.
"We are very positively surprised by fresh food acceptance, which we hadn’t sold before," Fernanda Grumach, shopping experience director for Amazon’s Brazilian operations, told Reuters in an interview. The comment underlines a clear shift in consumer behavior for an offering that had previously focused more on everyday essentials and packaged groceries in other markets.
Amazon launched Amazon Now with grocery deliveries in selected zones across eight Brazilian cities and has been progressively growing coverage, Grumach said. The company has moved to extend the service footprint within the greater S�o Paulo area, including a push into Osasco. Amazon did not provide further details on sales performance.
Since the Brazilian debut, Amazon has expanded its product range available through the rapid-delivery service by 15%, Grumach said, and highlighted a significant enlargement of the fruit and vegetable selection. The wider assortment accompanies efforts to meet local consumer demand for fresh and frozen categories that the company did not previously sell in Brazil.
Amazon faces intensive competition in Brazil from well-established e-commerce and delivery platforms. The company contends with MercadoLibre, which is rooted in Uruguay, and Shopee, owned by Sea of Singapore. Amazon may also find itself competing more directly with meal and food-delivery specialists such as iFood, which is controlled by the Dutch investment group Prosus.
To support Amazon Now operations in Brazil and Mexico, Amazon has partnered with the Colombian delivery app Rappi, agreeing to share logistics hubs as part of that collaboration. The company rolled out Amazon Now in Mexico late last year and watched that market for indicators of demand ahead of expanding services in Brazil.
Grumach said the World Cup stimulated consumer purchases for certain categories in Brazil, citing higher demand for items such as soccer stickers, snacks and beverages during the tournament period. She noted that Mexico’s earlier exposure to World Cup demand helped Amazon prepare for similar patterns in Brazil: "For example, Mexico debuted in the World Cup earlier than Brazil, so we closely monitored demand for Amazon Now there and thought, 'Well, we better be prepared for that here,'" she said.
Market context
- Amazon Now represents the company’s move into fresh and frozen groceries in Brazil, a strategic expansion in a market where rivals have adjusted their footprints in recent years.
- The service began in selected areas of eight cities and is expanding coverage - including parts of S�o Paulo's metro area - supported by partnerships for shared logistics.
- Amazon increased the Amazon Now assortment by 15% in Brazil since the launch, with a notable rise in the variety of fruits and vegetables available.