Global convenience store retailer Circle K announced this week that it has partnered with online grocer Farmstead to explore innovative supply chain, distribution, e-commerce fulfillment and marketing models.
Farmstead is the first online grocery brand to offer fresh produce, locally sourced fare plus national brands, delivered for free, at better prices than local supermarkets.
The partnership is expected to bring notable advancements to both parties’ operations:
- Opening up new formats for e-commerce fulfillment in U.S. suburbs using Farmstead’s Grocery OS tech stack and Circle K’s retail footprint
- Improving Farmstead’s national supply chain for non-perishables and convenience items
- Collaborating on distribution
- Co-marketing across a variety of new projects
In addition to forging a commercial agreement with Farmstead, Circle K has made an equity investment in the company via its Circle K Venture Fund, which was created to invest in companies developing forward-looking solutions that are shaping the future of convenience.
“The convenience landscape is changing dramatically,” said Kevin Lewis, chief marketing officer at Circle K parent company Alimentation Couche-Tard. “At Circle K, we are constantly innovating and exploring new technology that helps us deliver on our mission to make our customers’ lives a little easier every day. When we met the Farmstead team, we saw an opportunity to partner with them, exploring and learning about the new behavior of our U.S. suburban consumers using e-commerce and last-mile systems that lead to actual long-term profitability.”
Lewis added that Circle K is proud to have invested in Farmstead, as part of its effort to cultivate and support retail innovation that transforms the customer experience in its stores and beyond. “Getting in on the ground floor on industry-leading new technology is a key element of Circle K’s innovation strategy as we continue to grow,” he noted.
Pradeep Elankumaran, co-founder and CEO at Farmstead, said the market is in the early innings of significant change in the U.S. food system, which requires new supply and technological alliances. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Circle K on that journey,” he said, “with its scale and decades of multinational experience in the convenience industry, and to be advancing with Circle K as an investor.”
Spanning more than 60 years in the convenience retailing industry, Circle K was acquired by Alimentation Couche-Tard in 2003 and has developed into a global brand represented in over 20 countries.
