LAS VEGAS– Farmstead, the first online grocer to offer fresh, high-quality groceries, delivered for free, at better prices than local supermarkets, announced today that it is expanding to the Carolinas after inking a first-of-its-kind partnership with Southeast grocery company Alex Lee – parent company of grocer Lowes Foods and grocery distributor Merchants Distributors (MDI). The partnership enables Farmstead and Alex Lee to expand their reach in complementary markets without the need to open any physical stores.
Farmstead and Alex Lee made the announcement from Groceryshop 2019, taking place Sept. 16-19 in Las Vegas.
Farmstead got its start in the competitive San Francisco Bay Area. It stood out from other offerings by leveraging proprietary technology and a microhub model – delivery-centric warehouses that serve a 50-mile radius – to hone efficiency and reduce costs. As a result, Farmstead is growing quickly, with plans to expand nationwide to a primarily mid-market audience.
In the Carolinas – Farmstead’s first expansion market – the company will open multiple microhubs, which greatly ease entry into new geographies, reduce food waste by 3-4x and help eliminate food deserts by making fast, inexpensive delivery available to a wider area. Most of all, they meet customers’ desire for perfect orders with no stockouts, delivered free, with no markups. With Farmstead, customers can get all of their groceries – high-quality local brands, national brands and fresh meats, dairy and produce – from one place.
Physical supermarkets can cost up to $10M to build, take 18-24 months to construct, and typically serve a five-mile radius. A Farmstead microhub, by contrast can be constructed in under 8 weeks for just $100,000, and can serve a fifty-mile delivery radius.
“When we learned about Farmstead’s microhub approach, we recognized it would be a great model for expanding into new geographies where we don’t have physical stores,” said Kimberly George, vice president, communications and corporate citizenship, at Alex Lee. “This partnership will help improve the reach of Alex Lee in the Carolinas, and boost revenue with little risk. We’re excited to be the first to partner with Farmstead on this innovative approach to grocery.”
“We built and perfected the microhub model in San Francisco, and showed that it’s possible to leverage technology and build strong supplier relationships in order to make online grocery profitable,” said Pradeep Elankumaran, founder and CEO of Farmstead. “Now we’re ready to expand it to other geographies. This partnership with Alex Lee is the first of many we’re planning with grocery chains and distributors across the country.”
About Farmstead
Farmstead is the first online grocer to offer fresh, high-quality groceries, delivered for free, at better prices than local supermarkets. Using AI technology, Farmstead has reinvented the grocery buying experience and rewired how food moves across the country, to significantly reduce food waste and fulfill its mission of making high quality, locally sourced food accessible to everyone. Visit https://www.farmsteadapp.com or follow @farmsteadapp.
