Good Eggs Launches First Nationwide Offering

Online retailer Good Eggs has launched a new storefront of products that can be ordered by customers nationwide, called Good Eggs Select (GES), as part of an ambitious plan to help the retailer once again expand beyond its home state of California.

“We are looking to build a platform for the best [products], all in one place,” Good Eggs CEO Bentley Hall told NOSH via email. “So above all, it’s about taste, curating the best and freshest foods, and partnering with farmers and purveyors that we trust.”

Unlike the retailer’s main delivery service which uses a fleet of company-owned vans, GES bundles will be shipped via UPS. Inventory will rotate every few weeks and is selected by the Good Eggs team of category managers. The choice to make a dedicated storefront on a separate domain, Hall said, allows for the ability to quickly iterate and makes it “feel like a destination.”

Items sold on GES fall into one of three categories: in-season produce, meal kits and “curated giftables.” To start, the platform is debuting with meal kits from famed restaurants Momofuku and The Slanted Door, bundles of citrus or tropical fruits, and pantry products from the likes of Philz Coffee, Equator Coffee, French Squirrel, Diaspora Co, and Cowgirl Creamery.

Founded in 2011, Good Eggs previously offered CPG products made by local producers and growers in four markets spread across the U.S. On the verge of bankruptcy in 2015, the retailer ceased operations in all but a small section of the Bay Area. Since then, it has rebuilt its assortment, adding meal kits, prepared foods and alcoholic beverages, for example, and re expanded to a broader swath of Northern California and parts of the Los Angeles area.

Good Eggs has never hid its ambitions to once again move beyond California. In 2021 the company raised $100 million, in part to fuel further West Coast expansion, with the concept of a national shipping option as a means of kickstarting the move. However, earlier this year Hall indicated to NOSH that such a launch would likely not occur until at least 2023. When asked now if the rollout had been expedited, Hall demurred, but noted that the launch was timed to the holiday and New Year season.

“We believe a key differentiator in any industry is the speed and agility in which you innovate, launch, and learn. Our team has a strong bias towards action and fast improvement,” Hall said. “When your customers ask for something, you work to find a solution and challenge yourself to continually make it stronger.”

The GES website also solves several pain points for the retailer, namely an inability to capture revenue from the 30% of the Good Eggs website traffic located outside of California. It will also provide key demographic and geographic information that can be used to open up future cities and allow Good Eggs to avoid “a cold start” in markets.

Despite the potential demand, Good Eggs will face significant competition for GES.

Foxtrot Market, which focuses on local, artisanal and exclusive goods in its 23 physical stores, has also offered nationwide shipping for several years, positioning this service as an alternative to in-store pickup or local 30 minute delivery. Whole Foods, meanwhile, has its own delivery options via its parent company Amazon, with still more retailers partnering with Instacart, Doordash and Grubhub. The competitive front widens when looking at other edible gift options including Harry and David, Last Crumb, Goldbelly, Baked by Melissa, TRUFF and many coffee, confection or bakery brands. For Hall, however, GES fills a much needed middle ground.

“Good Eggs Select is a fresher and more curated combination,” Hall said. “Our approach is intentional and down to earth and we’re conscious of offering something for every shopper, from the gourmand to the shortcut chef – all with no subscription.”