Relay Foods, the online delivery and drop-off service for locally sourced foodstuffs, recently launched its mobile website. According to Matthew Smith, art director for Relay, customers can now "complete their entire shopping order from their mobile phone."
Within two weeks, Smith says mobile users will be able to collaborate on the same list the way they can on Relay's main website. The mobile website "works on any device with a modern browser," says Smith, "not just Apple or Android."
Relay cofounder Arnie Katz launched the company in 2009 in southern Virginia and has since expanded to serve Annapolis, southern Maryland, Williamsburg, Charlottesville and the greater D.C. metro area. According to Katz, Relay is expanding its delivery services to Fredericksburg in the next few weeks and will turn its attention to North and South Carolina in 2014.
"We deliver groceries to places where customers congregate," Katz says. Instead of delivering to customers' doorsteps, which is costly, Relay sends its customers' orders to pick-up locations—apartment or office buildings, or other public areas. "We reduce delivery fees to zero and we can offer prices comparable to those at the grocery store." Home delivery is available for an additional fee.
Katz believes that food transparency is "the number one way to fix the food system in the United States. Relay is known for transparency, for knowing where [the food we source] was produced and how it got from farm to plate," he says.
According to Katz, transparency helps both consumers and producers. For consumers who want to eat locally sourced food, Relay makes it easy for them to know where the meat, dairy and produce on their plates are coming from. For the farmers, Katz explains, "transparency builds brand…and reduces price pressure, which results in better food products."
Customers seem to like Relay. "We're growing quickly," Katz says. "We're up 26 percent from Q1 to Q2 this year, and Q2 is typically soft for us."
Relay Foods is offering a $30 discount on orders of $50 or more. Enter the code "SAVE30" to receive the discount.