Wakefern Food Corp.-owned Fairway Market is expanding its partnership with on-demand grocery delivery platform Instacart.

In a Dec. 20 press release, the companies announced the launch of “Fairway Now,” a fast home delivery service that allows Fairway shoppers to get groceries and household essentials brought to their doorstep in as fast as 30 minutes.

The service is now available from the New York City-based grocer’s Chelsea and Upper East Side locations and will roll out to Fairway’s two other Manhattan stores in coming weeks, according to the announcement.

After first collaborating in 2020 to offer same-day delivery to customers at all Fairway outposts in the Big Apple, Instacart and the supermarket banner worked together to optimize the Fairway Now service. Part of that endeavor included establishing a special aisle for Instacart shoppers stocked with frequently requested convenience items, which, the companies said, will help expedite deliveries — particularly during peak in-store hours.

Instacart’s vice president of retail partnerships, Ryan Hamburger, commented, “We wanted to create a new, fast fulfillment solution that helped Fairway Market serve their customers’ need for speed, while also giving them access to a vast catalog of items available in as fast as 30-minutes. With Fairway Now, we’re able to do just that – marrying convenience, speed, quality and the Fairway Market products and produce customers have come to rely on.”

Perry Blatt, director of e-commerce & business development for Fairway Market, added, “The Fairway Now service enables us to turn our brick-and-mortar Fairway Markets into convenience stores, providing customers with store-to-door delivery in as little as 30-minutes. Whether our customers need a last-minute dinner ingredient or are running out of milk, coffee, or even laundry detergent, Fairway Now is there to help with speed and ease.”

Several other banners within Keasbey-headquartered Wakefern’s co-op already offer grocery delivery services via Instacart, including ShopRite, The Fresh Grocer and Price Rite Marketplace.

The two also recently teamed up to deploy artificial intelligence-powered carts that let shoppers scan and pay for items directly from the device.

After launching at ShopRite in Spotswood earlier this year, the latest model of Instacart’s smart cart solution, Caper Cart, was added to Fairway Market locations in New York this past summer. ShopRite first began piloting the technology in 2021 after Instacart acquired Caper Cart.