There's a new player in the grocery delivery game, and it's mixing the tech-savvy of Instacart, local sourcing of Whole Foods and low prices to attract Hub consumers.
It's called Watershed Exchange and was launched this month.
"The way we differentiate ourselves from everyone else, is that we want to be a platform for local producers to sell direct to consumers. It's taking a farmer's market to another level. Why shouldn't you be able to access farmed products seven days a week 24 hours a day?" said Ryan Schoen, 32. He and Jeremy Stanfield, 34, came up with the idea while living in New York and working in operations for upscale grocer Dean & DeLuca. They greenlighted the idea in April, raised about $200,000 from angel investors in August and officially launched Watershed Exchange.
Here's how it works: Consumers order food from such vendors as Red's Best Seafood in Boston, or Maple Heights Farm in Westminster from Watershed's mobile-enabled website and then set a delivery window, typically between noon and 5 p.m.
Anything Watershed can't source directly is fulfilled by Pemberton Farms in Cambridge — mainly items such as beer, wine and spirits as the startup doesn't have a liquor license.
When they do source items that are not local, such as oranges, avocados or coffee, their aim is to use Fair Trade products.
"This (service) appeals to anyone who wants to connect more with their food," said Stanfield.
Schoen and Stanfield fill the orders and deliver the goods themselves in a custom bright blue and wood paneled refurbished school bus. So far, they've delivered more than 100 orders in their first three weeks.
Convenient, tech-savvy, local — but how are the prices?
Right now they have fresh Cape Cod scallops on their site for $13-per-lb. vs. Costco's $18-per-lb. frozen. They also have local apples for $1 per lb. "You shouldn't have to pay a premium for convenience," said Schoen.
Local farmers and artisans get 75 cents on the dollar versus the industry standard of 20 cents.
Chalk it up to seriously low overhead. Technology handles most of the transaction, there's no expensive real estate, store front, food waste, register clerks, shelf stockers, etc. And they reduce the distribution cost by dealing directly with the artisan.
"We are trying to create an alternative system to other food delivery services where it's better for the producer of the food to communicate their products directly to the consumer," said Schoen.
Delivery areas include Boston, Metro West, Somerville and Cambridge, with a plan to expand to more communities. The delivery is free for September but will be $5-$10 after the introductory promotion is over.
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