Grubhub partners with Buyk on ‘ultrafast’ grocery delivery

Food ordering and delivery marketplace Grubhub is joining with startup real-time grocery delivery service Buyk to bring 15-minute grocery delivery to the Grubhub marketplace through Buyk and Grubhub branded concepts, the companies announced Wednesday.

The fulfillment and delivery of orders will be handled by Buyk, and customers will be able to order from more than 30 initial participating locations in New York City and Chicago in the coming weeks. More than 2,000 grocery and convenience items from local and national vendors, as well as Buyk's own private label products, will be available for purchase and delivery in 15 minutes or less.

Grubhub's partnership with Buyk builds on the company's ongoing efforts in the convenience delivery space, including its recently announced Grubhub Goods locations available for on-demand delivery nationwide. After a pilot test in New York City, Grubhub Goods is expanding to 3,000 locations around the country, including a partnership with 7-Eleven stores, covering most of Grubhub’s markets and offering items for delivery like energy drinks, toiletry items and snacks delivered by Grubhub drivers.

"We're excited to work with Buyk and together deliver everyday essentials and grocery items even faster to our diners," said Kyle Goings, director of growth and new verticals at Grubhub. "This partnership will make the Grubhub Marketplace a one-stop shop for restaurants, convenience items and grocery supplies, building more diner loyalty and helping drive even more orders to all of our restaurant and merchant partners. We're thrilled to add Buyk to expand the number of options and delivery speed available to our diners."

Related:Buyk brings ‘instant’ grocery delivery service to Chicago

Buyk launched late last year offering “ultrafast” grocery delivery in New York City. Its online grocery model combines its proprietary technology stack with a network of dark stores, or “new generation” micro-fulfillment centers, to deliver fresh food, groceries and other essentials — including household and beauty care items — to customers’ homes within 15 minutes.

In January, Buyk expanded into Chicago as part of its plan to enter more U.S. markets in 2022. The e-grocer said it’s starting operations in Chicago with six “dark stores” to fulfill online grocery orders. Plans call for Buyk to open another 14 dark stores in Chicago by the end of the 2022 first quarter, which the company said will raise its dark store count to 35 for both New York and Chicago. 

"We're thrilled to partner with Grubhub to bring real-time retail to an even broader base of consumers," said Buyk CEO James Walker. "This strategic partnership goes far beyond grocery delivery, as Buyk and Grubhub will also cooperate in the areas of hyper-localized assortment and product management, food waste optimization, as well as smart routing and safety protocols to build the best experience for our couriers and our customers."

Related:Grubhub now offers convenience store delivery in partnership with 7-Eleven

With this partnership, Grubhub and Buyk are also doubling down on their respective efforts to fight food waste and will be donating excess produce and perishable items to local nonprofit organizations, the companies said.