Online grocer Farmstead eyes national growth with DoorDash

A San Francisco-based online grocer is supporting a planned 15-city expansion by collaborating with DoorDash.

Launched in 2016 as a free online delivery service for fresh, locally sourced produce, Farmstead is launching a partnership with DoorDash that will make its service available through the DoorDash app and website for one-hour delivery. The partnership will operate in all of Farmstead’s active markets, including Northern California and Charlotte, N.C., as well as 15 upcoming markets such as Miami, Nashville, and Raleigh-Durham, N.C.

In addition, Farmstead will integrate its proprietary Grocery OS on-demand delivery software with DoorDash, so that any retailer licensing Grocery OS has immediate access to DoorDash’s platform and delivery network via the DoorDash Drive white-label fulfillment platform. Grocery OS users will be able to list their own brands powered by dark locations on DoorDash’s app and websites for one-hour delivery.

“In the U.S., grocery e-commerce has lagged behind other areas of retail e-commerce - high prices, low delivery slot capacity and high fees have slowed adoption. Farmstead fixes all of that,” said Pradeep Elankumaran, co-founder and CEO of Farmstead, said. “Together, Farmstead and DoorDash can remove the two biggest barriers to grocery e-commerce success: order picking and packing efficiency, and low-cost, high quality delivery with a production capacity of thousands of orders per day. Farmstead’s Grocery OS facilitates efficiency inside the warehouse, and DoorDash provides the last-mile delivery logistics and marketplace platform to reach consumers. It’s a great combination that will help move the industry forward, while fulfilling the promise of e-commerce for grocery for customers.”

“We’re excited to partner with Farmstead to support its national expansion while offering our customers even more local grocery selection on the app,” said Fuad Hannon, head of new verticals at DoorDash. “We’re proud to play a part in accelerating the growth of local grocers and serving their local communities, with a focus on selling essential perishable staples customers need.”

DoorDash operates in more than 4,000 cities and all 50 U.S. states, as well as in Canada and Australia.