Martie launches online overstock grocer in Texas with new warehouse

One of the newest online grocers in the industry, Martie, just opened a Texas-sized warehouse in Dallas that will serve as its new nationwide shipping center, the discount grocery told Winsight Grocery Business.  

Martie cofounder Louise Fritofjsson said in an interview that the 38,000-square-foot warehouse enables the company to make Texas Martie’s 11th state in the grocer’s delivery area. It also is preparing the 14-month-old company to expand to the rest of the country, she said. Fritofjsson said their goal is to be available nationwide by the end of the third quarter. Fritofjsson noted that the company's growth is fueled by seed funding from Upfront Ventures, Day One Ventures and Summiteer. 

The business operates online only and purchases overstocked products from manufacturers before selling them to consumers at discounts of up to 70% off. The grocer, which is currently in business in 10 other states—California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana—offers more than 800 items from national brands such as KIND, Kellogg’s, Quaker and Annie’s Homegrown. 

“I want to build the IKEA of food,” Fritofjsson said, referencing the Swedish housewares store known for selling low-priced furniture that consumers assemble themselves. She said IKEA is a model for her grocery business because it’s affordable and its customers are proud to shop there. “It’s a treasure hunt; you go in for one thing and leave with 20,” Fritofjsson said.  

The online store only offers packaged goods, so no produce or perishable items, and shoppers can also peruse household and bath goods like laundry detergent and toothpaste. Fritofjsson said about half of the goods available on Martie are simply overproduced by manufacturers, which typically make more than they estimate they will sell to account for potential loss. Other items available might be seasonal, such as Valentine’s Day chocolates after Feb. 14. About a quarter of Mmartie's products are nearing their sell-by date, she said. 

In addition to making packaged goods available at a discount, the overstock grocer is also diverting perfectly good packaged goods from the landfill, Fritofjsson said. She noted that over the last 14 months, the company has already diverted a million pounds of food from landfills, and it’s saved shoppers more than $2 million. 

“We offer the best deals on products you know and love, ship everywhere within the states we operate (including rural zip codes), and enable shoppers to make a sustainable choice," she said in a statement. "We’re very excited to have launched in Texas, a strategically important market for us, as we continue our expansion from the West Coast towards the East.”  

To keep Martie's prices low, its delivery times (typically two to three days) are not as speedy as some other retailers and platforms. But those in Dallas can expect to have their orders within 24 hours, Fritofjsson said.  

She said the goal of providing inexpensive packaged goods is to help fight food insecurity, noting that as many as 9 million children in the United States face inaccessibility to healthy food. And although Martie is a discount grocer, that doesn’t mean shoppers can't purchase healthy, organic foods through the portal, Fritofjsson said. 

She said that when she began researching the idea for the discount grocery business, Fritofjsson realized food shortages weren’t the problem, but logistics were. “I felt there’s enough (food) to go around, but it’s the going around part that is the problem to solve,” she said.