EasyBins expands into Kansas City metro; to hire 15 employees

Springdale-based online grocery startup EasyBins will launch its grocery delivery service in south Kansas City, Kan., on Thursday (Nov. 18). The new micro-fulfillment center in Stilwell, Kan., will be the company’s sixth location.

The 1,500-square-foot center will allow EasyBins to start serving the surrounding area immediately, according to a news release. It will serve as a pooling and sorting center for customer orders. The company plans to hire 15 employees over the next six months across management and operations to support increasing customer demand.

“Over the past three years, EasyBins has continued to build confidence on providing a valuable and unique grocery delivery service to our customers,” said James Farmer, founder of EasyBins. “We are driven by thinking about our customers’ experience first. How do everyday families grocery shop? What do they expect? How can we give them access to more grocery items and make delivery as easy and convenient as possible for them? This service allows our growth plans to be aggressive.”

The new center will allow the company to serve a part of the Kansas City metro area, with a focus on suburban communities, said Keegen Knapp, head of growth and marketing for EasyBins.

“We provide the most convenience to their shopping habits and behaviors,” Knapp said. “For this reason, we specifically chose the south Kansas City, Kan., area as our next location.”

Launched in 2018, EasyBins allows customers to place online grocery orders from a variety of stores and locations. The company doesn’t have an order minimum or charge delivery fees. Knapp noted the company operates similar to a marketplace with margins in items but doesn’t charge other fees, tips or penalties.

“We have a variable margin similar to the margins used inside of the grocery store,” Knapp added. “The average margin per bin is $8, and 70% of those orders come from more than one store.”

Ordered are delivered in temperature-controlled bins. Deliveries come between 5 p.m. and 5 a.m.

Along with Kansas City, the company also serves Northwest Arkansas, central Arkansas, Arkadelphia, Tulsa, and Fort Collins, Colo.

The company has 65 employees, including a mix of full-time and contract workers. The company looks to move toward all full-time employees in 2022.

Earlier this year, the company completed its seed round funding with a significant investment from the Validation Fund at Winrock International. Farmer said the initial funding campaign was $650,000. It ended up oversubscribed at $750,000.