Dive Brief:

• Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) has inked a deal with DoorDash to offer on-demand grocery delivery services to independent food retailers, the cooperative food wholesaler announced in a press release Monday.
• Through the arrangement, shoppers can place online orders from AWG member retailers through the DoorDash marketplace without needing to select a time slot or meet a minimum order requirement.
• The partnership with AWG expands e-commerce options for independent grocers and bolsters DoorDash’s effort to expand its presence in the online grocery space.

Dive Insight:

DoorDash’s new relationship with AWG positions both companies to expand their connections with consumers as the digital grocery market rapidly evolves and the race to build ties with convenience-focused shoppers intensifies.

The arrangement gives DoorDash access to grocery shoppers at the more than 3,400 locations in 31 states that source products from AWG. That breadth could help the delivery platform deepen its roots in the grocery industry as it presses ahead with efforts to grab market share from Instacart and stave off growing competition from Uber, which unveiled ambitious plans to enhance the grocery-ordering features on its Eats food-delivery app last month.

DoorDash has recently expanded its partnerships with retailers in addition to announcing new ones. The company kicked off a partnership in March with BJ’s Wholesale Club to provide grocery delivery service to shoppers at all of the club retailer’s locations. Last month, DoorDash and Schnuck Markets expanded their prepared food delivery partnership to additional locations with an eye toward speeding up delivery times.

AWG’s deal with DoorDash also offers retailers options to help them stand up to larger grocery chains in the digital grocery arena, where companies with more expansive resources often enjoy an edge over smaller competitors.

“Our relationship with DoorDash is another way that we fulfill our mission to our member retailers by providing all the tools, products, and services they need to compete favorably in all markets served,” Stacy Bowen, AWG’s vice president of sales, support and solutions, said in a statement. “We know demand for this functionality continues to be very strong, and to remain competitive, retailers need solutions that offer simple set-up and increased convenience for customers.”

Retailers that work with AWG can tap DoorDash not only to provide digital grocery services to customers they already serve but also to connect with shoppers they might not have been able to reach, AWG noted in the announcement.

AWG is bolting digital ordering services onto its established business supplying retailers with groceries and managing private labels including Always Save, Best Choice, Clearly by Best Choice and Best Choice Superior Selections. The wholesaler also provides retailers with services including real estate and supermarket development support.