Gorillas Delivery Platform Is Making Music Too

A boss offering to make a creative outlet for its employees is not the norm. But German online grocery delivery platform Gorillas wants to do just that—make music from the artistic abilities of its employees.

To get this in motion, Gorillas launched its own record label, Pedal Records, a one-of-a-kind cultural initiative that “empowers its talented crew to express their creativity and passion in music,” the company said in a statement.

“Since day one, Gorillas has been committed to building a people-centric organization, fostering a culture with creative expression at its heart,” said Global Chief People Officer Deena Fox in a statement. “Whether in the form of custom murals in our warehouses, personalized notes to our customers or live DJ sets to energize the work environment, we encourage our crew to live our values and to be bold and authentic.”

The on-demand delivery service partnered with MNF, a Berlin-based record label, to shine a spotlight on its employees' musical talents.

“Together with the Berlin-based indie label MNF, we launched Pedal Records to cultivate our employees' artistic talent and passion for music,” Fox said. “Starting a professional music label is an exciting step for us in expanding our creative culture and I'm looking forward to the world discovering the many talents of the Gorillas' crew.”

Marc Hansell, general counsel for Gorillas, had the original idea to start a music label at Gorillas and still oversees the project today.

The company said Gorillas employees submit their tracks to Pedal Records where an A&R team, consisting of seasoned music industry professionals, checks all incoming songs.

“Even if not every submitted piece of music is released—or every artist signed—all Gorillas artists receive a response with feedback and an opportunity to resubmit their tracks,” the company said in a statement.

Going beyond the release of a title track, the company said the Pedal Records platform also functions as a mentoring tool.

“Once a track has been selected, a professional team is on hand to support the artist throughout the release process,” the company said in a statement. In fact the company said mentoring includes, for example, help with relevant topics, such as mixing and mastering the songs. The tracks are subsequently released on all relevant distribution platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, etc. 

As some grocery delivery services have seen concerns raised about business models, Gorillas provides full-time employment and healthcare benefits as well as bikes and other equipment. 

Some crew members like rap artist Nana A.J. find Pedal Records to be music to their ears. “Growing up, I always wanted to do something extraordinary with my life,” the rap artist with Pedal Records, said in a statement. “The only way I knew how was through my music: I wanted to encourage, inspire and have a positive impact on people's lives.”

Founded in May 2020 in Berlin by CEO Kağan Sümer, Gorillas promises delivery of items from big-name national CPG brands as well as popular local vendors in 10 minutes or less. Gorillas made its U.S. debut in New York in May 2021.