Courier service Postmates is getting into the rapid food delivery game with its new service, Pop. Users will be able to order from a limited menu and receive their meals in 15 minutes, significantly faster than the typical Postmates delivery from local restaurants, which can take more than an hour.
Postmates Takes on Uber and Sprig With Quick Food Delivery Service Pop
Postmates is not fast enough in the food-fast space.
Vjeran Pavic for Re/code
Postmates plans to partner with some of its local merchants on Pop. Postmates couriers will carry a few items with them at all times awaiting customer orders. When people order food, they won’t have to wait for a kitchen to prep it.
Although Postmates is the original on-demand delivery service, it is late to the crowded so-called food-fast space. It is battling Uber, whose UberEats program is modeled the same way with restaurant partnerships. It’s also competing with on-demand meal services Sprig, SpoonRocket and Munchery, which make the dishes themselves.
No one has proved that this is a sustainable endeavor yet. The delivery wars are cutthroat, with companies using their venture capital funding to artificially deflate courier prices for customers. In the food-fast space, Postmates is offering the lowest currently available — $1.99 for delivery, compared to SpoonRocket and Sprig’s $2.75, Munchery’s $2.95 and Uber’s $3.
Initially, the service will only be available in the startup-filled South of Market district in San Francisco.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
