FreshDirect

As early as 2010, FreshDirect began looking to expand from the New York City metropolitan area into additional East Coast markets such as Boston, Philadelphia, or Washington, D.C. It also considered that suburbs, while being more distant and requiring paying tolls, would only need one driver, and with a greater percentage of families, would yield more positive results.

2013–2020: Move to The Bronx, market expansion, acquisition

In January 2013, FreshDirect officially launched service in the greater Philadelphia metropolitan area. In September of the same year, the company expanded services to parts of Delaware.

In 2014, the company broke ground on a 500,000-square-foot (46,000 m2) distribution hub and corporate headquarters at Harlem River Yards in the Bronx. The new facility was forecast to expand the company's operations capacity and create 1,000 additional jobs.

In 2016, the company secured $189 million in outside funding at a valuation of $600 million. At the time it was the biggest round of fundraising in the company's 17-year history. The investment was led by J.P. Morgan Asset Management, with W Capital and AARP Innovation Fund investing as well. In conjunction with the investment, two J.P. Morgan executives joined the company's board. That same year the company expanded through the launch of FoodKick, an on-demand grocery delivery service providing a selection of essential food items and alcohol within one hour.

Early in 2017, FreshDirect, along with Amazon and other online grocery companies, began a two-year pilot program with the US Department of Agriculture. The program was designed to extend online delivery to low-income customers by accepting payment through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). As part of the program, customers could only use SNAP to pay for eligible items, not service or delivery fees.

The company expanded its geographical footprint in March 2017 to include delivery to Washington, DC; the surrounding towns of Arlington and McLean, Virginia; and Bethesda, Maryland. Prior to the expansion, FreshDirect had maintained a warehouse in Prince George's County, Maryland. At the time of the announcement, the company pledged to deliver food from its source directly to a customer's home in five days, which was roughly half the time of traditional supermarkets. As part of the expansion, the company began carrying a selection of regional foods including shellfish from the Chesapeake Bay, beef from Maryland, and chicken from the nearby Shenandoah Valley. About 50 additional employees were hired.

In July 2018, the company formally opened its administrative and warehouse center in the Bronx. The event was attended by local political leaders as well as New York Senator Senator Chuck Schumer. At the same time, FreshDirect experienced a number of reliability problems that damaged its reputation and cost the company market share. Many of these problems were traced back to issues within the Bronx warehouse. While what The New York Times called "Stages a Comeback" did not bring back 2017's 66% share of market, FreshDirect was still holding a 46% share, more than double that of the next largest competing firm.

Just months later, in September 2018, co-founder and CEO Jason Ackerman suddenly resigned. David McInerney was named as Ackerman's replacement and was added to the board of directors. McInerney was among the original co-founders of FreshDirect. He had previously served as FreshDirect's chief merchandising officer. He initially joined FreshDirect as a chef, creating the kitchen, bakery, and pastry operations in 2000. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park, McInerney had worked in the kitchens of noted chefs including Bernard Loiseau and David Bouley early in his career. Under McInerney's guidance, FreshDirect developed relationships with suppliers to move food quickly from its source to the customer. One such effort was the Montauk Dayboat Fishing Program, which launched in 2004 through a partnership with a fish market in Montauk, New York.

As of 2019, FreshDirect held 68% of the online grocery delivery market share in New York City. Other competitors included Instacart (13%), Peapod (9%) and Amazon Fresh (9%).

Acquisition

In the fall of 2020, Netherlands-based food retailer Ahold Delhaize announced their intention to acquire a controlling interest in the company. Centerbridge Partners, a private equity firm, would hold 20% of FreshDirect, which would retain its brand identity and continue to operate its Bronx warehouse and headquarters.

Following the acquisition, Dave Bass was named managing director of FreshDirect, replacing McInerney. Bass was charged with overseeing all operations including budgeting and setting growth targets. Bass previously led merchandising for Peapod Digital Labs, a unit of Ahold Delhaize USA. He also had senior positions at Food Lion and Hannaford Bros.

In August 2022 the company ended service to Philadelphia and Washington, DC.

In November 2023, Getir acquired FreshDirect at an undisclosed price.

Seasonal Service

In 2021, FreshDirect launched a service to deliver alcohol to popular vacation destinations in the New York region during the summer months. The service, called the Rosé Express, guaranteed two-hour delivery of wine, beer, and spirits to customers in the Hamptons and Montauk communities as well as Bellport, Shelter Island, and the North Fork on Long Island. The service covers towns along the Jersey Shore as well as Long Beach Island.

Conveyor belts in the warehouse run for almost nine miles (14 km) throughout the packaging area. A bin typically travels for 25 to 30 minutes on a conveyor belt during the picking and packing process. The Bronx distribution hub is equivalent in size to 50 grocery stores, allowing for greater efficiency when reallocating perishable items to local food relief partners including City Harvest and the Food Bank for New York City.

Truck fleet and deliveries

FreshDirect maintains a fleet of more than 300 vehicles ranging in size from box trucks to tractor trailers. Many are outfitted with custom features including frozen zones, special shelving for grocery orders and tri-fold rear doors with steps on the rear platforms. The company uses a system on its trucks that includes GPS, safety warnings, notifications and alerts. These systems monitor the way trucks are driven to ensure that drivers are operating safely and limiting product damage.

The fleet uses multiple forms of fuel, including electric, biodiesel, and CNG. In 2015, the company was cited by the US Environmental Protection Agency for its efforts to significantly reduce diesel emissions and promote clean transportation in the Northeast.

Groceries are delivered in reusable bags. About 150,000 reusable bags are used in the delivery process. For some time, the company would accept returns of the bags but ended that practice in 2020. Some customers have taken to repurposing the bags into clothing and art. In 2021, the company donated excess bags to local community organizations which used the bags to deliver books and food.

Locally elected representatives, among them council members María del Carmen Arroyo and Melissa Mark-Viverito, New York State Senator José M. Serrano, US Congressman José E. Serrano, Comptroller John Liu and then-NYC Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, publicly came out against the proposed move. In an audit, then-comptroller Liu supported the group's claims by stating that EDC subsidized "empty job promises." Liu, who was campaigning for New York City mayor at the time, also told the press that FreshDirect was holding the city 'hostage' with the proposed move. In November 2012, Gristede's supermarket owner John Catsimatidis, the New York Association of Grocery Stores, the National Supermarket Association, and the Bodega Association announced that they were joining the opposition, claiming that FreshDirect was receiving unfair benefits from the city. Both during his primary campaign for NYC mayor, and after winning the candidacy of the Democratic party, then-NYC Public Advocate Bill de Blasio repeatedly criticized FreshDirect's proposed relocation to the South Bronx.

In June 2013, a New York Supreme Court judge threw out the lawsuit against FreshDirect's move, finding that the city's environmental review was "based on a thorough review of all areas of relevant concern." South Bronx Unite, joined by the Natural Resources Defense Council and Latino Pastoral Action Center, filed an appeal in late 2013, but their appeal was dismissed in March 2014. South Bronx Unite also organized protests against the move, including a demonstration at the Harlem River Yards on March 22, 2014, which resulted in the arrests of nine protesters. These legal challenges and protests ultimately failed to stop the move, with FreshDirect breaking ground for its new facility in December 2014.

The warehouse began operating in 2018. A study was held by researchers from Columbia University who confirmed increased traffic congestion in two neighborhoods due to the warehouse. This directly contradicts the environmental assessment submitted in 2014 which stated there would be "no significant adverse environmental impact". Traffic congestion increased significantly in both mixed-use zones in every part of the day except 9 a.m. to noon near the train yard. In Mott Haven, congestion increased significantly between midnight and 6 a.m., while on the highways, traffic increased between midnight and 6 a.m. and from 9 p.m. to midnight. Drilling down to the adjoining roads that were part of the environmental review, congestion increased for most of the day. Traffic also increased on three out of the four roads that weren't studied in the environmental assessment.