Wesley Yue

Wesley Yue
Nationality	Canadian
Occupation	Entrepreneur, startup founder
Known for	Co-founding Ninja Delivery, ultrafast grocery delivery in Canada

Wesley Yue is a Canadian entrepreneur and technology startup founder, known as a co-founder of Ninja Delivery, a Waterloo, Ontario-based ultrafast grocery delivery company that launched during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. Under Yue's leadership, Ninja commercialized what it described as the first 10-minute grocery and essentials delivery service in Canada, expanding from its origins in the Kitchener-Waterloo region to Toronto and other high-density urban markets. The company attracted attention for its rapid delivery model, securing C$2.8 million in funding in early 2022 from investors including Lachy Groom before pausing operations later that year amid broader challenges in the ultrafast delivery sector. Yue served as a public spokesperson for the company, articulating its business model and growth strategy in Canadian media throughout its period of active operations.

Career

Ninja Delivery

Wesley Yue co-founded Ninja Delivery, an ultrafast grocery delivery startup based in Waterloo, Ontario. The company launched in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, positioning itself as a service that could deliver groceries and household essentials to customers' doors within approximately 10 minutes of ordering. The service initially operated in the Kitchener-Waterloo area before expanding to Toronto in early 2022, where it offered free delivery and operated until 2:00 AM, differentiating itself from competitors through extended hours and the elimination of delivery fees.

Ninja's business model relied on a network of "dark stores" — small, strategically located fulfillment centers stocked with grocery and essential items that were not open to walk-in customers. Orders placed through the Ninja app were picked and dispatched from these locations by company couriers, enabling the rapid delivery times that defined the service. The company operated in the same competitive space as other ultrafast delivery platforms that had emerged in North America and Europe, including Tiggy and rapid delivery options from larger players such as Uber.

In interviews, Yue described the company's strategy as focused on converting first-time users into habitual customers through the speed and convenience of the service. Speaking to CBC News, Yue stated that customers who experienced the fast delivery times were "blown away" and tended to "stick with us forever," emphasizing user retention as a key metric for the business.

Funding and Expansion

In March 2022, Ninja announced that it had raised C$2.8 million (approximately US$2.3 million) in funding to support its expansion across Canada. The funding round included participation from Lachy Groom, a notable technology investor, among other backers.

Following the funding announcement, Ninja stated it would be "doubling down on its commitment to key, high-density Canadian markets," according to a report in Strategy Online. The company's expansion strategy centered on densely populated urban areas where the logistics of sub-10-minute delivery were most feasible, given the proximity of dark stores to large numbers of potential customers.

Operational Challenges and Pause

By mid-2022, Ninja Delivery faced significant operational challenges, consistent with broader difficulties experienced by the ultrafast grocery delivery sector worldwide. In May 2022, The Logic reported that Ninja had laid off staff and was under consideration for an acquisition. According to the report, the company communicated to stakeholders that it was "currently under consideration for an acquisition" and would be "pausing our store operations during this process."

The challenges faced by Ninja were not unique to the company. The ultrafast grocery delivery sector as a whole experienced a period of retrenchment in 2022, as companies that had expanded rapidly during the pandemic struggled with high operating costs, thin margins, and the difficulty of sustaining venture-capital-funded growth in a competitive and capital-intensive market. Many ultrafast delivery startups in North America and Europe similarly scaled back operations, sought acquisitions, or ceased trading during this period.