Addie’s, the drive-up grocer redefining the grocery shopping experience, officially launched today its first concept store with $10.1 million in seed funding led by the Disruptive Innovation Fund, the venture capital arm of Clay Christensen’s Rose Park Advisors. Instead of patchworking together in-store grocery, online grocery, and direct-to-consumer delivery models, Addie’s has built an entirely new one: a pick-up-only store designed solely for stocking, storing, and bagging groceries without the need for a shopper ever to step foot in the store itself.
The pandemic accelerated the need to reinvent how busy consumers get their groceries, but traditional retailers and established grocery delivery apps have struggled to optimize the experience for consumers. Mercatus predicts that online grocery shopping will double to $200+ billion by 2026. Delivery-only options cannot scale beyond population-dense urban environments, and curbside pick-up out of traditional supermarkets is inefficient, unreliable, and unprofitable. These models have significant limitations: few available time slots, low-quality produce, service fees, and frequent out-of-stock items, resulting in frustrated shoppers.
Addie’s has reimagined every aspect of grocery shopping, from inventory management to store layout, enabling accurate and affordable grocery pick-up in minutes. Consumers purchase groceries through Addie’s custom app or website and choose a pick-up window that works best for their schedules.
Addie’s saves time, money, and valuable resources by redesigning the store as an onsite warehouse and the parking lot as a convenient drive-up experience. These savings translate to higher starting wages for store employees ($20 per hour), all while maintaining competitive pricing for customers and using just a quarter of the energy required of regular supermarkets.
“We believe that taking better care of busy families should be done in a way that also takes care of our team, our community, and our planet,” said Jim McQuade, co-founder and CEO of Addie’s. “With our seed funding, we’ve built an end-to-end experience to serve people in and around Norwood in a way that can be replicated in suburbs nationwide. We look forward to quickly expanding, offering busy families across the country drive-up grocery convenience without compromise.”
“The 100-year-old grocery business is not immune to disruption,” said Matt Christensen, CEO and Managing Partner at Rose Park Advisors. “The traditional business model of in-store shopping makes serving convenience-focused shoppers highly challenging. We see disruptive potential in Addie’s technology-powered drive-up grocery model and are excited to support them as they launch.”
Addie’s first store, a 22,000 sq. ft. retail location, is now open in Norwood, Massachusetts. The company stocks a curated selection of national brands and local favorites, constantly improving its assortment based on customer searches and requests. To learn more about Addie’s, visit Addies.com.
About Addie’s
Addie’s is the first-of-its-kind drive-up grocer redefining the grocery experience. By eliminating in-store shopping, Addie’s has reimagined every aspect of grocery shopping, from inventory management to store layout, enabling accurate and affordable grocery pick-up in minutes. Consumers purchase groceries through Addie’s custom app or website, then choose a pick-up window. Backed by Clay Christensen’s Rose Park Advisors, Addie’s plans to expand across the U.S. The first concept store is now open in Norwood, Massachusetts.
