Amazon is tackling another aspect of the logistics business: food delivery. In a press release today, the company announced that it will deliver from restaurants in select parts of the Los Angeles area through its Prime Now service. Yes, this means that Amazon will now deliver food and other goods to you within one hour, provided you live in sunny SoCal.
According to the company, partners include LA eateries like Umami Burger, Baby Blues BBQ, Wokcano and Hurry Curry of Tokyo, among others. It also offers grocery pick-up and delivery from places like Sprouts Farmers Market and SoCal health food mecca Ehrewhon Natural foods. All of the items can be ordered through Amazon’s Prime Now app, available for iOS and Android as well as Amazon devices.
It’s also coming out swinging, offering free delivery within the handful of eligible zip codes. But, given the language of the release it’s likely that the company will put an extra fee on the service over time.
Amazon dipping into food delivery is an interesting move, if not an entirely surprising one. The company has been toying frequently with grocery delivery and has even stoked reports of opening a physical brick-and-mortar store. But incorporating food delivery into Prime Now puts it at odds with some stiff competition — Postmates, Doordash, Seamless and even Uber, which has been dabbling in food delivery with UberEATS. Amazon has an advantage here in its free delivery, but that could be a fleeting one.
The company promises to roll out further into the Los Angeles area over the next few days. No word on whether it will expand to more cities in the future.
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