Eat 17

Source: Eat 17

Eat 17 combines premium locally sourced fresh produce with convenience under the Spar banner

Eat 17 groceries are available to order online for the first time.

The London food and convenience chain has partnered with on-demand grocery startup Grocemania to fulfil orders within one hour from its Walthamstow branch.

Eat 17 combines premium locally sourced fresh produce with convenience under the Spar banner in a deal with Blakemore. The chain has three other stores, in Hackney, Bishop’s Stortford and Hammersmith.

As of this week, customers within three miles of the Walthamstow branch can shop online at Grocemania.co.uk. Delivery is £4.50 if the basket is under £10, £2.50 if it’s between £10 and £30 and free if it’s more.

About 30 lines are currently offered, including fresh fruit & veg, snacks, alcohol and cigarettes, with Eat 17’s full range to be added after a brief testing phase.

Eat 17 is the latest in a number of new retailers added to Grocemania’s site this year, with many more due to go live within weeks, according to the startup’s founder Askar Bulegenov. In total, 73 stores are to be added to the 20 currently on the site.

New additions will include Neal’s Yard deli Casanova & Daughters, Bayswater’s Le Supermarche and more Spars, Bulegenov said.

Grocemania launched in 2016 with the aim of providing e-commerce and rapid delivery to independent grocers, though stores currently listed also include a Tesco Express. Orders are picked by store staff, with the exception of the Tesco.

The startup is using courier firm Stuart, which also delivers Ocado Zoom orders, for the expansion. It will take Grocemania beyond Surrey and south west London, where its current retailers are concentrated, and spread the service across the capital.

“We have 73 stores signed now in central London and they are just waiting for us to make them live,” said Bulegenov. “Deliveries are going great with Stuart, super-fast and easy.

“We’ve got a new development team that’s working fast and we’re starting to enable all stores now.”