Farmstead Launches Grocery Pickup Hubs Across Bay Area

AI-powered digital micro-grocer Farmstead has launched a new 30-minute Express Pickup service at micro-hubs in San Francisco and San Mateo, Calif. The new service makes Farmstead one of the first online grocery delivery players to offer online order and pick-up services in the Bay Area.

“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, shoppers’ groceries are ready for pick up within 30 minutes of placing an online order. When they arrive at the pick-up location, they can tap a button on their phone, indicating “I’m here,” and a Farmstead employee will place the custom packed grocery order in their car.

Offering Express Pickup service for the first time in San Francisco is the latest step toward Farmstead’s quest to reinvent the 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 rampant waste in the grocery industry, where more than 38 million tons of food waste are generated each year, while saving customers time and money.

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

Founded 12 months ago, officials said Farmstead has completed more than 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.