Online grocery service Door to Door Organics expands to Kalamazoo

When Door to Door Organics obtained $25.5 million from investors in its second round of financing the company was poised to expand.

Expansion in Michigan is part of the growth plan for the company founded in Pennsylvania in 1997 by David Gersenson. Door to Door Organics has been delivering organic produce from local farms in Michigan since 2009.

The company delivers fresh, organic, natural and local food directly to homes, offices, and schools throughout the West, Midwest and East Coast. Through five regional delivery facilities, it currently delivers organic groceries to 30 markets in 11 states. It has weekly and bi-weekly delivery options.

Since its re-incorporation in Colorado in 2005, Door to Door Organics has made more than 2 million deliveries and expects to have acquired more than 50,000 new customers by the end of 2015.

Kalamazoo is one of a number of local markets into which the company is expanding in the coming year. Door to Door Organics reports the online grocery industry is projected to grow from approximately $23 billion in 2014--3.5 percent of total online and offline grocery spending--to nearly $100 billion by 2019, representing 12 percent of total grocery spending.

Door to Door says its customers tell the company that supporting local farmers and artisan food producers is a key reason for choosing the online grocery shopping service. During the growing season, Kalamazoo customers will be able to choose up to 70 percent locally grown produce in their regular deliveries.

The company also will deliver handcrafted local foods, such as Ope's -- Food the World Can Live With, made in Kalamazoo. Lauren Oppenlander, owner of Ope's says, "As a local artisan food company and long-time partner of Door to Door Organics, we are excited to see them expand their service."

The Michigan team has shown great support for local food producers, and community organizations, Oppenlander says.

"Our goal is to increase access to local, natural and organic foods for busy consumers who often do not have the time to travel to several stores for the high-quality food they desire," says Chad Arnold, CEO of Door to Door Organics.

Source: Door to Door Organics