Dive Brief:
- FreshDirect has launched two-hour alcohol delivery in the Hamptons and Montauk on New York’s Long Island, according to an emailed press release on Tuesday.
- The Rosé Express sells wine, beer and spirits and is marketed as a "summer service," but a spokesperson for the company said it will get extended to Jan. 1, 2022, along with grocery delivery to the Hamptons.
- FreshDirect’s announcement taps into pandemic-boosted alcohol sales and the return of summer vacations, with the service targeting a part of Long Island frequented by affluent consumers.
Dive Insight:
FreshDirect is promoting “ease and speed” with its new alcohol delivery in eastern Long Island, Farhan Siddiqi, the company’s interim CEO, said in the announcement, as grocers look to soak up alcohol sales amid summer events.
The New York City-based e-grocer is promoting the service, which provides same-day as well as two-hour delivery, with a branded vehicle for deliveries and social media marketing. FreshDirect is also offering coupon codes to incentivize people to try Rosé Express, including 5% off every order for delivery pass members and, for all shoppers, free delivery. In the announcement, FreshDirect said it will unveil more activations at a later date.
The service comes at a time when Ahold Delhaize, which bought FreshDirect with Centerbridge Partners at the start of the year, says the online grocer is entering "its next phase of growth."
FreshDirect launched in New York more than two decades ago and recently is seeing growing competition from Instacart and Amazon, in addition to 15- and 20-minute grocery delivery startups. Last year, the company began offering grocery delivery to the Hamptons full-time after previously offering service to the region only on a seasonal basis.
“Fresh Direct is a strong brand, but people have forgotten about it because of new entrants—these new shiny objects,” Siddiq told Bloomberg in a recent interview, noting lowering prices and focusing on express delivery are ways the online grocer is looking to gain more traction in the competitive Northeast online grocery space.
Currently, FreshDirect has a presence in seven states, including the New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas and Washington, D.C. Following its acquisition, co-founder and CEO David McInerney left FreshDirect in May. A successor has not been named.
