NEW YORK - Grocer Hy-Vee is expanding its digital food ordering capabilities, partnering with Deliverect, a leading global food tech SaaS company. By integrating Deliverect into each of Hy-Vee’s Fast & Fresh Market Grille Express stations, the grocer can deliver an even better customer service experience by preparing orders more quickly and efficiently. Hy-Vee will also leverage Deliverect's analytics to make more data-driven decisions on its menu offerings and inventory.

“As a brand with convenience at its core, it’s critical that we meet our busy consumers where they are,” said Jennifer Lambert, Senior Vice President of IT Strategy and Planning, Hy-Vee. “Deliverect's innovative solutions have dramatically increased the speed of our curbside pickup service while providing us with key insights to keep our operations running smoothly and our customers happy. We look forward to seeing how this collaboration continues to evolve in the future.”

Hy-Vee’s Fast & Fresh convenience stores have 190 locations throughout the Midwest, and are designed to meet the time-strapped needs of today’s consumers. Automating the order creation process with Deliverect eliminates manual entry of meal and snack orders, helping staff focus on preparing high-quality meals.

“Convenience stores are at an exciting juncture as they begin to play alongside restaurants in the food delivery arena, and technology is necessary to make this shift successful,” said Noah Hayes, Americas Vice President, Deliverect. “Deliverect’s suite of solutions are designed to enable food service businesses to streamline their operations and deliver a frictionless customer experience.”

As a press release explained, Hy-Vee began collaborating with Deliverect in January 2024, piloting a custom integration across all store locations. Hy-Vee’s Fast & Fresh app was developed to leverage Deliverect’s order and menu management, as Deliverect also built a custom curbside notification solution, significantly increasing customer convenience, and operational efficiency at each convenience store location.

According to the National Association of Convenience Stores, the food service category—which includes prepared food, commissary, and hot dispensed beverages—now accounts for 26.9 percent of in-store sales. As convenience stores increasingly enter the food ordering space, delivery apps are becoming essential to meeting consumer demand.

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