Collapsed fast grocery delivery service Milkrun has been rescued by industry giant Woolworths.

The company emailed customers on Thursday, announcing the business would be rebranded as “Milkrun powered by Metro” and supply goods from Woolworths Metro.

The takeover means Milkrun and its blue branding become a part of the grocery chain’s Metro60 platform.

“It’s been hard to ignore Milkrun, who proved themselves to be a bold and innovative brand in the Aussie grocery space,” Woolworths told Milkrun customers in an email.

“So we set to work to trying to figure out if there was a way in which we could bring the best of both brands together”.

Milkrun also fired up its Instagram account on Thursday with the words “we’re back, baby”.

“The cat is well and truly out of the bag. Milkrun is back in the game, now powered by Woolworths Metro,” it wrote.

“Let’s get this grocery delivery party restarted. Feels good to be back.”

The rebranded Milkrun will operate in Sydney and Newcastle, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast and the ACT. It promises deliveries in an average of 33 minutes, with no service fee and a flat $5 delivery charge.

“Milkrun pioneered rapid grocery delivery in Australia, and I’m pleased to see the brand continue in Woolworths’ hands,” founder Dany Milham said in a statement provided by the supermarket giant.

Woolworths Group CEO Brad Banducci said the company had “long admired Milkrun’s innovative brand, dedication to customers and ambition to shake up the grocery delivery model”. He was “thrilled” to see it return under Metro60, he said.

The rebooted Milkrun also has a new app and will offer customers Woolworths Rewards points.

Milkrun was an ultrafast start-up that built its brand on cheap prices and an initial promise of 10-minute delivery.

It closed in April because of financial troubles.

Milkrun is not the only rapid grocery delivery service to run into trouble in recent times. Sydney pandemic startup Voly collapsed last November, citing “sudden changes in macro environment, unstable geopolitics and high inflation”.

Rival service Send collapsed about a year ago, after apparently spending $11 million in eight months.

-with AAP