Zero waste stores make it easier to green up your grocery routine, but if you don’t live near one, it can be difficult to navigate packaging-free shopping. This is why Zuleyka Strasner created Zero Grocery, the US’s first plastic-free online grocery.
Founded in 2018, the store aims to make sustainable shopping accessible and easier for more people. The store launched in the Bay Area, but plans to soon expand to Los Angeles as well. How does it work? Users can shop online for all their grocery essentials and the goods are delivered in tote bags. Products are packaged in reusable glass or compostable containers. When you place your next order, the company picks up your previous supplies while dropping off your new goods. Strasner describes the process to Vogue: “We’re like a modern day milk man.”
The store has all your usual grocery store staples, but it also features unique regional products like locally-sourced cheese and organic baby food. In this way, Zero Grocery is supporting local growers and makers. If a company wants to sell their goods waste-free the online store will even work with them to design appropriate reusable packaging and sell through their platform.
During the pandemic, demand for Zero Grocery has actually increased. Zero-contact shopping is on the rise and with local businesses struggling, customers are looking for easy ways to safely support them. Zero Grocery brings a level of ease to waste-free shopping that wasn’t previously available. Now, anyone in the area that wants to shop without packaging doesn’t even have to leave their house to do so!
