Fresh Street Secures Seed Funding Round to Launch First Location in Early 2022

New grocery pickup alternative focuses on family living to provide a more affordable, convenient and seamless online grocery shopping experience


CHICAGO, Oct. 20, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fresh Street, the first and only grocery store built exclusively for online, click & collect shopping, announced today that it has raised $4 million in seed funding from private investors. The brand is set to open its first location in Chicago early 2022.

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

Fresh Street’s research revealed that the use of online grocery shopping with curbside pickup is high and growing - over 70 percent of shoppers will use this option to fulfill their grocery needs in this year. However, innovation in the grocery space has primarily focused on delivery, which predominantly addresses the 30 percent of Americans who live in downtown areas.

“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 time at a traditional retail store and/or money via fees, hidden upcharges and inefficiencies that plague grocery delivery,” said Founder & CEO, Mike Sayles.

“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 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.”

The seed funding will be used to renovate Fresh Street’s first location in the Chicago area in early 2022, build a best-in-class team (with staff from Google, Amazon, Aldi, Wal-Mart, KraftHeinz, and Uber), build out its website and mobile applications, and connect with local consumers to accomplish its mission of providing joy, control and simplicity with every member pickup.

For more information visit FreshStreet.com.

About Fresh Street
Fresh Street is the first and only grocery store built exclusively for online, click & collect shopping. Our goal is to provide a convenient and affordable online grocery experience, free of the friction that plagues current online grocery shopping options. Through our easy-to-use app and website, as well as efficient pick-up experience, Fresh Street is giving families time back for the things that really matter. The brand is set to open its first location in 2022.

Contact
press@freshstreet.com