Delivery updates at PineMelon

Hi everyone. Beginning this Monday, January 20th, PineMelon will be implementing some delivery changes. We want to provide you with all the information related to the changes, while also giving you some context as to why they're happening.

PineMelon was founded because we wanted it to be super easy for our friends, family, and neighbors to get their food directly from local Makers: farmers, ranchers and producers. We originally designed PineMelon to operate at a large scale, serving tens of thousands of customers in the Denver area alone. However, we’ve found that while the Front Range is host to a very passionate community of locavores, the overall customer base is not as big as we envisioned – yet.

We don’t want to understate the power of the PineMelon community; over 200 local Makers and thousands of Coloradans rely on our platform to stay connected. It’s truly amazing to behold. But the reality is this: in order for PineMelon to survive and to continue connecting local Makers directly to customers, we need to adjust how we do business to operate at a smaller scale in a sustainable way, from both an environmental and economic perspective.

In order to achieve this, we’re embarking on a series of changes. Here is what is updating on Monday (1/20) and why.

Switching from bags to boxes

For the first couple weeks, the boxes will be test boxes, not the finished design. The printed boxes are currently being manufactured and will have handles. To see a preview of what they will look like, check out our Instagram post here. These boxes will be packed with an insulation liner and ice packs in a way that will keep your order fresh for hours, so you won't have to be home at the time of delivery. All the packaging is fully returnable and reusable.

How to return packaging:

  1. Break down the box and store with the ice packs and liner until your next delivery.
  2. When you place your next order, set the packaging material in the same place you will receive your delivery. We will pick everything up for sanitation and re-use.
  3. If needed, you can add instructions in the delivery notes at checkout to ensure your groceries are delivered where you prefer.

Delivery windows and order changes

When placing an order, you will no longer have to select a delivery window. Delivery will occur during the day before 5pm, typically between 11am–5pm, and we will send an estimated delivery time that morning. Don't worry if you aren't home right at the time of delivery—the new insulated boxes will preserve your order.

Because we begin packing orders and planning delivery routes in the morning, the cutoff for same-day delivery, order changes, and order cancellations is 6am the day of delivery. This is to ensure the smoothest service possible for all of our customers, as last minute requests can be very disruptive to our operational process. We're really just a small operation of about 30 people getting all the orders packed and delivered everyday—and that includes our customer service, merchandising, and marketing teams! For any emergencies, contact customer service and we can evaluate on a case-by-case basis.

Delivery Day Availability

Delivery days will now be determined by demand in a given area. While most of our customers will see 5–6 delivery days per week, some will see 2–3 days per week. As demand in a given area increases we will be able to reevaluate the delivery availability of that zone. See the map below for delivery in your area.

Why the changes?

To be fully transparent, because we have to in order to stay in business.

So while there are a few reasons these changes are beneficial, the primary reason is it helps us approach economic sustainability. Ultimately, the boxes allow us to pack more orders in each van for longer driving routes, while limited delivery days allow us to make each delivery route more dense.

In low-density areas, every order can cost us as much as $35–$50 to complete, and with grocery margins being what they are, we are actually losing money when we deliver to those areas. Making these changes allows us to significantly reduce the cost of each delivery so that we can stay in business. Without these changes, every order would need to be over $200 for us to even break even.

The silver lining is that by implementing reusable packaging and dense delivery routes, we are able to significantly reduce our carbon footprint—something very important to us. The new system will keep 50+ cars off the road per van because each van will have at least 50 orders in them, on average.

Thank you for understanding

It isn't easy to make these changes. We know it isn't the most convenient solution for everyone. We know some of you may not continue shopping with us. Yet, we hope that you still see the value in our service. We hope you still share our mission to strengthen our local economy, to bring healthy and sustainable food to our community, and to give local businesses a platform beyond the summer farmers markets. Thank you for your patience, understanding, and joining us on this journey.

If you have any questions, please reach out to our customers service team at help@pinemelon.com or 720.664.9600. We're always happy to help.

For the most seamless shopping experience as we roll out these changes, please make sure your PineMelon App is up-to-date.