Springdale startup plans for 2021 growth with COO hire

EasyBins, an online grocery startup based in Springdale, hired its first chief operating officer in December.

James E. Purnell has more than 15 years of experience in retail and operations. He most recently worked at Instacart.

“Online grocery sales project to more than quadruple their share of the grocery market by 2025,” said James Farmer, EasyBins founder. “Hiring our first COO is not just driven by EasyBins’ impressive growth to date, but also by a deep confidence in our future growth and lasting appeal to consumers.”

EasyBins launched in 2018 and now operates in Northwest Arkansas, central Arkansas and Arkadelphia in south Arkansas. The company also serves consumers in Fort Collins, Co., and Tulsa, Okla.

EasyBins is the first grocery delivery business to expand item selection beyond a single store. It offers consumers single orders that deliver products from several stores at the same fixed times each day — 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Farmer said he is often asked about the Arkadelphia market service.

“Originally it was a quick test when COVID-19 hit. Could we open a new location in five days?” he explained. “However, I forgot to plan an exit strategy, and the volume has kept growing. So we keep letting it go forward. Now it’s become a place to test different logistics models.

“We picked Arkadelphia because we found two great leaders in the market: Nikki and Ben Chandler.”

EasyBins has five full-time employees, an intern from the University of Arkansas and about 50 staff. The company hit its 20,000th delivery in December.

“Our average basket is $42, and 80% of orders have products from more than one store,” Farmer said. “Going into 2021, we’ve got a few key objectives, but one of the largest is focusing on growing household count by opening 10-15 new markets and expanding the leadership team.”

Initially self-funded, EasyBins expects to begin a Series A funding round in 2021.