Instacart to offer ButcherBox meats for delivery

Instacart, the nation’s largest online grocery delivery platform, has partnered with the ButcherBox brand of high-quality protein to make grass-fed beef and other meats more accessible to Americans across the U.S.

The pilot program, launched Friday, is now available for customers across the greater New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston and Miami regions, with plans to roll out across the contiguous U.S. later this summer.

The new ButcherBox storefront on Instacart enables customers to shop from 10 unique box configurations to meet their protein needs, which start at $99. Each box will include a variety of cuts across grass-fed, grass-finished beef, free-range, organic chicken, pork raised crate-free, wild-caught Alaska sockeye salmon and wild-caught scallops. Customers who order ButcherBox via Instacart will have their box delivered directly to their door within one to four days after ordering. Boxes will be fulfilled by ButcherBox and shipped through third-party delivery partners like FedEx, or a regional carrier.

"ButcherBox was founded in 2015 with a mission to make high-quality protein more accessible to consumers across the U.S., and we've always had our eye on new ways consumers would interact with our brand aside from just buying direct from us on ButcherBox.com," said Mike Salguero, founder of ButcherBox. "Our partnership with Instacart enables us to reach even more consumers with the click of a button."

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Earlier this year, at the Annual Meat Conference in March, Salguero said that ButcherBox would also be expanding into retail grocery this year, although he gave no details as to who their retail partner would be.

To start browsing the ButcherBox storefront on Instacart, customers can visit the Instacart store or download the Instacart app on their mobile device. From there, customers can enter their zip code, select the ButcherBox storefront and add a box to their cart for delivery within one to four days.

"Instacart is committed to offering customers a wide selection of items and more ways to get exactly what they need from the retailers they know and love," said Chris Rogers, vice president of retail at Instacart. "With the addition of ButcherBox to the Instacart marketplace, we're making their curated, high-quality proteins even more accessible to customers nationwide. Whether planning a summertime BBQ or a weeknight dinner, we're continuing to help families get what they need through an effortless online grocery shopping experience."

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For San Francisco-based Instacart, the partnership with ButcherBox is just the latest expansion of the online grocery delivery platform’s offerings beyond traditional supermarkets. Instacart partners with almost 600 national, regional and local retailers to provide delivery and pickup from more than 45,000 stores in more than 5,500 North American cities in North America, with its services accessible to over 85% of U.S. households and 70% of Canadian households.

The company has continued to expand its retailer base beyond grocery, including sporting goods, home goods, specialty beauty care and convenience stores through partnerships with Dick’s Sporting Goods, Bed Bath & Beyond, Sephora, Michaels and 7-Eleven. Previously, Instacart entered markets such as off-price/closeout retail with Big Lots, office retail with Staples U.S. and Canada, vitamins and supplements retail with Vitamin Shoppe and prescription delivery with Costco Wholesale. Instacart also delivers household decor from Walmart, pet care supplies from Petco and over-the-counter medicines and health care products from CVS Pharmacy and Rite Aid.