Dive Brief:

• SpartanNash last week announced a multipart deal with DoorDash that incorporates the delivery company as an e-commerce partner, service provider and distribution client.
• Under the deal, DoorDash will provide on-demand grocery delivery from more than 100 SpartanNash owned stores as well as become a delivery and e-commerce services option for the grocery company’s network of 2,100 independent retailer customers.
• SpartanNash will also serve as a distributor to DoorDash’s online convenience store, DashMart, beginning in New York City and expanding to additional locations later.

Dive Insight:

SpartanNash is adding DoorDash as a partner across the various facets of its business as both companies look to reach more customers with home delivery.

The deal adds another delivery option for shoppers of SpartanNash’s retail stores. Those stores, which include locations under the Family Fare, Martin’s Super Markets and D&W Fresh Market banners, already offer delivery through Instacart. In addition, the company has its own delivery services, Fast Lane and Groceries to Go, that utilize store workers to fill orders and then rely on multiple last-mile delivery companies to ferry those orders to shoppers’ doorsteps.

SpartanNash is also adding DoorDash as a service option for the hundreds of independent grocers it counts as distribution customers. Those retailers will be able to list their assortments on DoorDash’s marketplace app and website. They will also have access to DoorDash Drive, the e-commerce company’s white-label delivery service.

“SpartanNash’s rapid innovation and digital platform expansion are part of our overarching omni-channel growth strategy,” SpartanNash Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Masiar Tayebi said in a statement. “Our partnership with DoorDash cuts across the full food value chain and signifies another important milestone in our journey to better serve our customers as their needs evolve.”

The DashMart supply agreement, meanwhile, gives SpartanNash a distribution foothold in what’s become a fast-growing business for DoorDash. Launched in 2020, DashMart now operates in locations across the country, offering a selection of around 2,000 impulse items and fill-in groceries for delivery in less than an hour. In December, DashMart opened its first location in New York City, offering delivery in 15 minutes and utilizing the company’s first fleet of full-time delivery workers.

In addition to expanding its own DashMart locations, DoorDash has said it plans to offer DashMart dark stores and technology as a service to retailers as they expand their delivery services and look beyond their stores to fill orders.

SpartanNash is expanding its services while also battling activist investors that have launched a campaign criticizing the company's leadership and corporate strategy. Last month, the retailer-distributor launched a new online ordering system that offers a wider selection of specialty products for its distribution customers.