Former Sainsbury’s CEO joins the Snappy Group

The Snappy Group, an e-commerce grocery and hospitality technology company, has named former Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King as a senior advisor to the firm.

King joins the group with the vision of acting on the board as non-executive director following a recently launched series A fundraising round that he has “made a significant investment” towards.

He will provide the role with a wealth of retail and business experience, as the Snappy Group seeks to grow the services it provides to local retailers and hospitality organisations.

The Snappy Group’s operations span two apps, with the Snappy Shopper and Hungrrr platforms offering online convenience store and hospitality orders respectively.

Mike Callachan, co-founder of Snappy Shopper, said that King’s “wealth of experience” will prove “invaluable as we expand further”.

He added: “Our mission is to give communities on demand access to the products of local businesses. In this context, our platform is based on genuine partnerships and the principle of mutual benefit. 

“The platform therefore evolves to suit their needs and I believe our flexibility, commitment and commission structure differentiate us from our competitors.”

King currently acts as a non-executive director at Marks and Spencer, and a member of the public interest body at PwC.

Prior to the current positions, King was CEO at Sainsbury’s between 2004 and 2014, where he oversaw nine years of profit growth.

King said: “This is an exciting and pivotal time for the business and I believe that I will be able to add significant value. 

“I look forward to working with the management team as the business continues its expansion and grows its market share further within the thriving UK convenience market and beyond.”