[ibimage==31142==Medium==none==self==ibimage_align-right]Instacart, a San Francisco-based, on-demand delivery startup that delivers groceries to your door within one hour, officially rolled out in LA this past week, its seventh city since its launch in 2012.
Outside of LA and SF, Instacart currently operates in a number of large cities including Chicago, New York City, Washington D.C., Boston, Philadelphia and most recently San Jose. With Instacart’s two-year anniversary fast approaching, the team has plans to feed the country and by taking each new market by storm.
“We are looking to hire two very talented operations managers in each new city we launch," said Maxx Freedman, a member of Instacart’s expansion team. Since September Instacart has grown from 15 employees to just about 40, proof of the growing roots of the business. It's business model for expanding to new markets closely resembles that of fellow SF startup Uber's hyper-local operations strategy in new markets. But the model isn't the only thing reminiscent of Uber: Instacart itself is sometimes referred to as "Uber for grocery delivery" because it provides a convenient service with a single swipe on a smartphone.
Instacart doesn't need to tell LA residents how convenient their offering is: LA customers are already keen on any service allowing them to avoid uncessaringly long commutes to shop for groceries.
Investors too have recognized the value in helping customers quickly get their groceries. After successfully going through the Y Combinator program in 2012, Instacart raised a seed round of $2.3 millon from Kholsa Ventures and Canaan Partners. Then in July 2013, Instacart raised a Series A of $8.5 million from Sequoia Capital to fuel even more market launches.
How it all works is fairly simple: via Instacart's app or web platform, hungry customers can connect with personal shoppers who personally deliver the groceries selected (yes, think Lyft, Uber, Postmates here). Right now, groceries are available from Whole Foods in the LA area, and Instacart has plans to add additional grocery stores in the coming weeks.
“Short-term we are focused on expanding our coverage area throughout LA,” said Freedman. “Long-term we look to continue our expansion into every major market and scale as efficiently as possible.”
By the end of 2014, Instacart will be in over 10 highly-populated regions and will be able to support multiple local grocery stores in those areas. With plans to launch in other “tech-savvy cities” soon, Instacart will truly be achieving its mission of being everyone’s online grocery store.
Built In LA members can try Instacart and get $10 in credit and the first delivery free by entering “BuiltInLA” as a promo code when placing an order.
