Sprouts Farmers Market debuts on Uber Eats

Sprouts Farmers Market is now on the Uber Eats delivery platform, launching a phased rollout beginning with about 40 Florida stores, the retailer announced Monday.

The specialty grocer, which currently offers delivery through Instacart and DoorDash, said it intends to expand its presence on Uber Eats to all of its more than 400 locations in 23 states by the end of this year. More than 15,000 Sprouts products, including organic items, local produce and diet-specific products, will be available on the platform.

“We are excited to expand our reach and respond to customer demand for fast, convenient delivery of our high-quality better-for-you products that you can’t find anywhere else,” Sprouts President and COO Nick Konat said in a statement. “By partnering with Uber, more people will be able to access our uniquely healthy assortment and the season’s freshest, most delicious produce.”

Phoenix-based Sprouts Farmers Market debuted delivery in 2018, via Instacart. At the time, the grocer expressed caution about the demand for delivery.

“I think that the fresh home delivery business is not moving at the speed as what many out there are talking about and think the U.S. is moving at,” then-CEO Amin Maredia told analysts in February 2018, as quoted in the San Francisco Business Times.

In the years since, though, e-commerce has grown to make up 12% of Sprouts’ total sales, up from just 2% in 2019, CEO Jack Sinclair told analysts in October, noting that both Instacart and DoorDash have been “great partners” over the past year.

“Our research shows an online delivery customer is a valuable omnichannel customer, as nearly 80% of our online customers also shop in-store,” Sinclair said, according to a transcript from financial services site AlphaSense. “And as a bricks-and-mortar customer starts using e-commerce, their spending increases more than 30%.”

Through the end of January, Sprouts customers will receive 50% off their first Uber Eats grocery delivery order of $50 or more, up to a maximum discount of $35.

“When customers open the Uber Eats app, we want them to be able to get (almost, almost) anything delivered to their doorsteps—and Sprouts Farmers Market brings an incredible variety of healthy, delicious products from fresh-picked produce to baked goods and more,” Christian Freese, head of grocery and retailer for Uber Eats in the U.S. and Canada, said in a statement. “This winter, we’re thrilled to team up with this beloved brand to make healthy eating more convenient than ever.”