Boulder foodies wholeheartedly support the idea of buying local. We visit the farmers markets and roadside stands on occasion, but honestly, we are fair-weather friends.
Our “buy local” intentions get swamped by reality. We’re too busy to chase Boulder County ingredients all over town.
What if there was a single, year-round source for all our favorite local products, bridging the gap between local farms and Boulder families? Imagine getting Spark + Honey granola, Il Porcellino salami, Boulder Broth, Green Belly hot sauce, Boulder-baked Moe’s Bagels, Falafel King pita, Rudi’s loaves and Havenly gluten-free breads delivered to your front door.
Enter: Pinemelon.
The trailblazing new grocery service delivers local, organic and everyday groceries from an inventory of 6,000 items to more than 18,000 customers in Boulder and the Denver Metro. The dozens of fresh produce offerings available every week on Pinemelon are sourced from local and national organic farmers.
“We work a lot with Kilt Farms in Longmont,” says Alexa Weissberg, the company’s growth marketing manager. “Their produce is always top notch. They deliver to us almost every day from the fields and greenhouses.”
Pinemelon launched in 2022 in Denver (and the U.S.), but it is a unique international import.
“The company was born as an online grocery platform in Kazakhstan,” Weissberg says. “The founders wanted to bring the concept to America. They researched and found that the Denver metro was the best place to launch it.”
Farmers and food producers deliver to Pinemelon’s Denver warehouse where the groceries are picked up and delivered to Denver and Boulder homes during a scheduled three-hour window. There is no delivery fee on orders over $35. Unlike DoorDash, Instacart and other delivery services, Pinemelon employs all the drivers.
Some of these services overlap with existing local systems. The Boulder County Farmers Market offers some of the same local items on its online marketplace for weekly pickup. A few farmers and ranchers make winter CSA boxes available. But Weissberg says competition is not on the menu.
“A lot of farmers and other vendors have to close their doors in the winter because they have nowhere to sell their harvest,” she says. “We want to make sure they continue to stay in business.”
Locals who order from the platform include many seasonal farmers market customers, according to Weissberg.
“Number one are moms and families, plus young couples,” she says. “They all have busy, 9-to-5 lives but also want a healthy, sustainable lifestyle. We have many members of the older generation who are less mobile, especially in the winter.”
Several Boulder County businesses have partnered with Pinemelon, including Healthy Harvest olive oil, Full Stop crackers, Bibamba chocolate, Highland Honey, Dry Storage and Hinman Pies, MASA Farm, Rebel Bread, Cure Farm and Mountain Girl Pickles.
While its focus is on local and organic foods, Pinemelon is thoroughly practical. The platform also delivers a wide range of ready-to-cook meals and everyday items. That lessens the need to make additional trips to the supermarket for things like baking powder and vanilla extract.
“We want to serve as a marketplace where you can get everything,” Weissberg says, “and that includes Heinz Ketchup.”
According to Weissberg, the company’s sustainability efforts involve an efficient “carpooling” delivery system, the use of recyclable paper and biodegradable plastic bags and donation of excess food to local food banks.
Down the road, Pinemelon looks to expand its offerings and the cities it serves.
“We are focusing on finding regenerative meat producers because local sustainable meat is almost impossible for consumers to find,” she says.
Pinemelon also hopes to supply produce to restaurant chefs and ship CSA boxes from farms to homes.
“Our mission is to support sustainable farmers and strengthen local food systems,” Weissberg says. “We want to educate everyone about the importance of securing local food sources.”
Read more local food news from John Lehndorff