Fresh Street Aims to Reinvent Grocery Pickup

A new digital-first food retailer in Chicago is looking to reimagine grocery pickup.

Fresh Street bills itself as the first and only grocery store built exclusively for click-and-collect grocery shopping, and it has raised $4 million in seed funding from private investors. The brand is set to open its first location in Chicago in early 2022. 

Fresh Street says it will provide members with a modern solution that is free of the friction that plagues online grocery shopping. Through an easy-to-use app and website, fast turnaround times and efficient pickup experience, Fresh Street will look to provide affordable convenience that saves members time and makes lives easier.

“Fresh Street is fundamentally about giving families time back in their day for the things that really matter. While most grocery start-ups have focused on delivery services in dense urban centers, there is tremendous opportunity to optimize online grocery shopping for the millions of individuals who live outside downtown areas. Currently, these families are asked to sacrifice either their time at a traditional retail store and/or money via fees, hidden upcharges and inefficiencies that plague grocery delivery,” said Founder and CEO Mike Sayles. 

According to the company, the popularity of curbside grocery pickup is high and growing — over 70% of shoppers will use this option to fulfill their grocery needs in the coming year.  However, innovation in the grocery space has primarily focused on delivery, which predominantly addresses the 30% of Americans who live in urban core centers and downtown areas.   

“Our innovative solution will provide fast and affordable groceries for these families. We have the benefit of a blank sheet of paper and an opportunity to listen to what consumers truly want. That means saving families time with our easy-to-navigate online shopping experience and a seamless pickup process. It also means providing affordability through transparent pricing, clear rewards, an optimized inventory management system, and efficient assortment model that minimizes out-of-stocks,” Sayles said.

The company says it has hired staff from Google, Amazon, Aldi, Target, KraftHeinz and Uber to build out its website and mobile applications.

Earlier this month another pickup-only grocer opened in South Carolina. Opie is a grocery store in the Charleston, S.C., area (Mount Pleasant) that is drive-thru only. Unlike most other grocery stores that offer online pickup, Opie does not require shoppers to schedule pickup slots ahead of time and there are no minimum orders or pickup fees.

Customers can pull into the drive-thru lane, order in the app or from a clerk, and receive groceries in minutes. For large orders and those who prefer to plan ahead, scheduling is available as well. Additionally, the store is open 24 hours a day.