Vallarta Supermarkets Brings Flashfood to West Coast for 1st Time

Vallarta Supermarkets, one of the largest Latino-owned supermarket chains in California, has launched a pilot partnership with Flashfood, a digital marketplace that provides customers access to heavily discounted food nearing its best-by date. The five-store pilot will bring the app to Los Angeles County shoppers in Palmdale and Lancaster for the first time, expanding Flashfood’s presence across the U.S. from coast-to-coast.

Flashfood aims to eliminate food waste at the retail level by connecting shoppers with savings up to 50% on food nearing its best-by date that would otherwise be thrown away. Not only does Flashfood provide a sustainable solution by reducing the amount of perfectly good food reaching landfills, it also allows retailers a way to offer much-needed consumer discounts during these inflationary times.

Vallarta shoppers can save on everyday items like meat, produce boxes, dairy and bakery items, as well as center-store foods and snacks at five stores. Purchases are made directly through the app and customers can simply pick their order up from the Flashfood zone located inside the following participating stores:

• 440 E. Palmdale Blvd, Palmdale
• 1803 E. Palmdale Blvd, Palmdale
• 38118 47th St. East, Palmdale
• 815 E. Ave K, Lancaster
• 1801 West Ave. I, Lancaster

“Partnering with Flashfood enables us to connect our communities with discounted groceries at their local Vallarta store,” said Andrew Lewis, VP of marketing, Vallarta Supermarkets. “As a proven sustainability leader, Flashfood will not only help our shoppers save up to 50% on groceries but will also effectively reduce the amount of food reaching the landfill and further our commitment to zero waste.”

To date, the Flashfood app has diverted 40 million pounds of food from reaching the landfill and has saved shoppers more than $100 million on their groceries.

“An estimated one in nine Americans are food insecure, including more than 15% of shoppers in Lancaster and Palmdale,” said Josh Domingues, CEO and founder of Toronto-based Flashfood. “We are proud to partner with Vallarta, who is deeply committed to serving their community to offer shoppers more affordable groceries, while in turn reducing food waste. This pilot partnership is exciting because it also marks Flashfood’s entrance into the West Coast and expands our footprint across the country.”

Flashfood’s expansion out west was made possible thanks to the company’s $12.3 million Series A investment in February. The latest round was led by S2G Ventures, along with ArcTern Ventures, General Catalyst, Food Retail Ventures, Rob Gierkink and Alex Moorhead, among others. 

Before its partnership with Vallarta, Flashfood operated in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Massachusetts, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Wisconsin and Canada. It can currently be found in more than 1,210 participating grocers, including The Giant Co., SpartanNash, SN Martin’s, Loblaw Corp., Tops Friendly Markets, Giant Eagle, Stop & Shop and more.

As another participating grocer, Meijer recently hailed the Flashfood program as a sustainability success story. The Midwestern retailer said that the initiative has diverted more than 1 million pounds of potential food waste over the past year. 

Sylmar, Calif.-based, Vallarta Supermarkets is a full-service independent grocery chain with 53 locations throughout California. The company is No. 87 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Meijer operates more than 260 supercenters and grocery stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin. The company is No. 20 on The PG 100.