New York-Based Online Grocery Company Has The Formula For Success

A 12-year-old Long Island City online grocery business, one of the five largest in the country, may epitomize the future of the $700 billion grocery industry. Nationwide, online business still accounts for less than four percent of grocery sales. But industry experts say it is the “the next frontier”, a fact well understood by Amazon and Walmart. From the beginning, online grocer FreshDirect operated under a unique vision, despite skepticism. It is not a delivery service for an established supermarket chain. Rather, the founders built the company independently, sourcing products directly from farms, and always emphasizing quality. So far, FreshDirect is available in five East Coast states, and would love to expand. But not, its owners say, at the expense of quality.