Grocery pickup in 30 minutes or less

By Gina Acosta – 10/30/2017

A new farm-to-fridge player in the online grocery space has launched an express service that offers grocery pickup in 30 minutes or less.

Farmstead, the new AI-powered digital micro-grocer that sources and delivers fresh food from farm-to-fridge in 60 minutes, has launched a new 30-minute Express Pickup service at micro-hubs in San Francisco and San Mateo, Calif. The new service puts Farmstead on par with the largest incumbent players in the rapidly expanding online grocery delivery space, many of whom do not yet offer online order and pick-up services in San Francisco.

“At a time when the tech sector is trying to figure out what the future of grocery shopping will be, we are rolling out a new digital grocer that solves for convenience, food waste, and geographic density,” said Farmstead CEO and co-founder Pradeep Elankumaran. “Our suburban customers requested a free rapid pickup option from their nearby Farmstead hub to help them replace time-consuming last-minute trips to the supermarket – we’re thrilled to bring them this carefully designed, compelling new experience.”

With Farmstead’s new Express Pickup service, groceries are ready for pickup within 30 minutes of placing an online order. When customers arrive at the pickup location they can tap an “I’m here” button on their phone, and a Farmstead employee will place the custom packed grocery order in the car.

“The addition of Express Pickup to Farmstead’s fulfillment model makes it possible to launch lightweight, software-defined hubs anywhere in the US to quickly and easily meet consumer demand, fitting in seamlessly with their existing grocery habits,” said Farmstead product manager Jennelle Nystrom.

Offering Express Pickup service for the first time in San Francisco is the latest step toward Farmstead’s stated goal of fundamentally reinventing the $670B grocery sector. By using AI technology to optimize the sourcing and distribution of food from farms to customers, Farmstead’s fulfillment model is specifically designed to reduce waste.

Founded just 12 months ago, Farmstead has completed over 17,000 deliveries to thousands of Bay Area customers, and has raised $2.8 million in seed funding from Resolute Ventures, Social Capital, Y Combinator, and Joe Montana’s Liquid 2 Ventures.