Instacart Expands to Orange County, Calif.

In response to high demand from consumers and retailers in the Los Angeles area, Instacart has expanded its grocery delivery service to Orange County, Calif.

The company's initial delivery area includes Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Corona del Mar, and much of Irvine, with retailer partners including Whole Foods Market, Gelson's Market, Stater Bros. Markets, Ralphs, Smart & Final, Costco, Petco, and H Mart.

"We are passionate about saving our customers time and money, which is why we partner with local and national retailers to bring our customers groceries from their favorite stores wherever, and whenever they want them," said founder and CEO Apoorva Mehta. "We couldn't be more excited to launch in Orange County."

Gelson's Markets, which already works with Instacart in the L.A. area, noted its enthusiasm about expanding its partnership with Instacart. "We are seeing tremendous growth in our delivery business with Instacart in LA, and look forward to offering the same convenience to many of our Orange County customers," said Yvonne Manganaro, senior director of marketing at Gelson's.

Added Patrick Bradley, president of Whole Foods Southern Pacific region: "We've seen how much our customers love this fast and convenient way to receive Whole Foods Market groceries right to their door, so we are thrilled to offer this service to our Orange County community. Instacart has given us a way to provide customers with the highest-quality, fresh and healthy groceries even when they can't make it into our stores."

Founded in San Francisco in 2012, Instacart enables customers to order groceries online, which are then delivered in as little as one hour. The service is available in 19 metropolitan areas.