Ex-Googlers Stir Up Controversy With Bodega Pantry Concept
Everyone covets convenience. Whether physical or digital, more concepts are rolling out these days intended to upend and disrupt conventional retail with an ultimate goal: make shopping more convenient.
Bodega has just wrapped up a 10-month pilot in several Bay Area locations. Co-founder and CEO Paul McDonald has now stated he wants to roll out 50 new Bodega locations on the West Coast. By the end of 2018, his company plans to distribute more than 1,000 units and go national. “The vision here is much bigger than the box itself,” McDonald told Fast Company. “Eventually, centralized shopping locations won’t be necessary, because there will be 100,000 Bodegas spread out, with one always 100 feet away from you.”
Needless to say, this has caught the attention of not only the grocery industry but also the urban independent mom-and-pop retailers from which Bodega derives its name. After the Fast Company story broke last week, Bodega and its owners quickly became the target of a large social media backlash, not only for what many consider to be a culturally insensitive name choice, but for the article's declaration that the company wanted to put these small shops out of business. . .