The Statehouse in Trenton
By Joshua Burd
State officials have offered a 10-year, $39 million tax credit package to encourage an online delivery startup to open a nearly 300,000-square-foot facility in Gloucester County.
The Economic Development Authority last week approved the award for Gobrands Inc., a five-year-old business that delivers items from convenience stores and other businesses. The Philadelphia-based company, which operates the service known as goPuff, told the authority it was seeking to centralize its logistics, data analytics, R&D, warehouse and distribution operations and was considering a facility on Route 322 in Glassboro and Harrison.
The Grow New Jersey tax credit is meant to incentivize Gobrands to choose South Jersey over a competing location in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, with the promise of creating 602 new jobs.
Gobrands currently operates in 38 locations in 21 states, according to EDA documents. The business is based on software that allows customers to order items online or via the company’s app and have convenience items delivered to their doorstep, offering more than 3,000 items such as snacks, drinks, ice cream and household items.
The authority, which met on Friday, said the company has proposed a capital investment of more than $40 million, estimating the project would have a net benefit to the state of $21.4 million over 20 years.