Flashfood Expands to California, Thanks to Save Mart

Grocer will be 1st in state to offer the service that reduces food waste

3/20/2024

Save Mart's three banners will soon offer Flashfood services to their customers throughout California and western Nevada.

California-based The Save Mart Companies is bringing customers at its Save Mart, Lucky and FoodMaxx banners the ability to save money and combat food waste through a new partnership with Flashfood. The app marketplace will connect shoppers with fresh produce, meat and other high-quality groceries near their sell-by date for up to 50% off, helping to divert food waste from landfills while simultaneously offering great deals on groceries.

The Flashfood app has rolled out to 44 Lucky stores in the greater San Francisco area and will soon expand to all 194 of Save Mart’s locations throughout California and western Nevada. Shoppers at those stores can select their location, choose discounted items to purchase, pay directly on the app and pick up the order at the designated location within the store.

“No one wants to live in a world where food goes to waste, while at the same time families are forced to live with less,” said Nicholas Bertram, CEO at Flashfood. “The Bay Area has long been a place where technology is used to solve humanity’s problems, which is why Flashfood desires to be part of this community. We’re proud to partner with The Save Mart Companies, a retailer that has served shoppers in California for more than 70 years and continues to support the communities they serve.”

[PODCAST: Flashfood Brings Back the Art of the Deal]

This marks a major expansion for Flashfood, with Save Mart being the first retailer in California to offer the app marketplace.

“This partnership underscores our commitment to innovation and leadership in the industry,” said Tamara Pattison, SVP and chief digital officer at Save Mart. “Together, we’re tackling food waste so that the bounty of California’s farms ends up on the dinner table, not in a landfill.”

Modesto, Calif.-based Save Mart, a Kingswood Capital Management LP portfolio company, has almost 200 Save Mart, Lucky and FoodMaxx stores in California and western Nevada. In addition to its retail operation, it operates SMART Refrigerated Transport and is a partner in Super Store Industries, which owns and operates a distribution center in Lathrop, Calif., and the Sunnyside Farms dairy processing plant in Turlock, Calif. As California’s largest regional full-service grocery chain, Save Mart employs 13,000 associates. The company is No. 52 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.