Farmstead started making Bay Area deliveries via Udelv autonomous vans in Sept;
Pilot will soon be extended to other Farmstead delivery areas
SAN FRANCISCO and SAN MATEO, Calif., Oct. 29, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- From Groceryshop 2018, Farmstead, the nation's first AI-powered digital grocer that sources and delivers fresh foods from farm to fridge in 60 minutes, announced that via a new partnership with Udelv, it's one of the first grocers in the country to make deliveries using autonomous delivery vehicles.
Farmstead began a pilot with Udelv, the world-leading autonomous delivery van (ADV) company in September 2018, testing the customer experience of delivering via self-driving vans on select routes in the Bay Area. The process for customers is simple:
- Customers who have opted-in to autonomous delivery are notified when the vehicle pulls up to their door
- They tap a code via SMS
- A dedicated compartment opens up, and the customer picks up his or her bagged groceries
- Once empty, the compartment closes and the vehicle is routed to its next delivery
In the short term, each van has a safety operator per Calif. regulations. View a video of the Udelv vehicle here.
“While many services have talked about making deliveries via autonomous vehicles, Farmstead is actually doing it,” said Farmstead CEO and co-founder Pradeep Elankumaran. “We envision a future where autonomous delivery is the norm in our space rather than the exception. This technology will help us be more efficient, enabling us to get fresh groceries into our customers’ homes even faster and cheaper than before. Customers who have already experienced our autonomous vehicle delivery have been blown away – with Udelv’s help, we can’t wait to bring it to all our service areas.”
Udelv CEO Daniel Laury said, “Farmstead moved quickly to take advantage of the benefits of autonomous vehicle delivery – we were able to get our pilot up and running in just a few weeks. We’re really excited to be working with such an innovative partner, as we think grocery delivery is a perfect use case for Udelv’s self-driving vans – getting fresh and sometimes delicate items to customers quickly”.
Farmstead’s Elankumaran and Udelv’s Laury have both been invited to speak at Groceryshop 2018 on the topic of using technology to streamline grocery operations. Both will share more detail on the pilot during their presentations.
To learn more about Farmstead, visit https://www.farmsteadapp.com/. To learn more about Udelv, visit https://www.Udelv.com/.
About Udelv
Udelv is revolutionizing transportation with its Autonomous Delivery Van (ADV), built specifically for last and middle-mile delivery on public roads. Founded in California in 2016 by Daniel Laury and Akshat Patel, Udelv is on a mission to reinvent delivery and shape the future of autonomous driving.
In January 2018, Udelv successfully accomplished the first-ever autonomous delivery on public roads. Since then, Udelv has completed over 800 deliveries for multiple merchants in the San Francisco Bay Area and is planning for expansion in several other states.
About Farmstead
Farmstead is the only pure-play digital grocer that brings fresh, local groceries to doorsteps in 60 minutes. Using AI-powered technology, Farmstead has reinvented the grocery buying experience and re-wired how food moves across the country to significantly reduce food waste and make high quality, locally sourced food accessible to everyone. For more information visit www.farmsteadapp.com/about.
Media Contact:
Michelle Faulkner
+1 617-510-6998
michelle@big-swing.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9487c1e1-37ca-4587-8377-45cfb6088570.