Postmates Pop Wants to Deliver Meals in 15 Minutes or Less

Postmates, one of many start-ups that has established a foothold in the food delivery market, is expanding with a service that's meant to get diners their meals as quickly as possible. Dubbed Postmates Pop, it's been deployed in San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood and aims for delivery in 15 minutes or less, and it's apparently averaging less than seven minutes in the early going. Users order meals via the Postmates app.

Postmates Pop partners with local restaurants to deliver "highly curated and unique" meals. The whole thing sounds similar to UberEATS, which operates at lunchtime in a few cities across America and promises delivery in 10 minutes. Unlike UberEats, Postmates' new venture won't be limited to specific neighborhoods in cities as it gains wider traction. That's likely because instead of having drivers take orders, pick up meals, and then deliver them, Pop cuts out the pick-up time. Instead, drivers start the day with an inventory of dishes in special heated food containers. Lunch service begins at 11 a.m. and lasts until the inventory is gone.

Some dishes that have appeared on the Pop menu so far, according to a Postmates spokesperson, are a tuna panzanella salad from A16, super super healthy salad from Jane, warrior sandwich from Irving Subs, and New Orleans-style iced coffee from Blue Bottle. Word isn't out yet on how well the dishes hold up to riding around in a delivery car over the course of lunch service, but the spokesperson tells Eater, "Each driver carries a limited supply in order to guarantee freshness and speed."

The delivery charge for Postmates Pop is $1.99 — a dollar cheaper than UberEATS — and most lunch dishes are priced "at or around $10." The spokesperson tells Eater the service will eventually expand to include dinner and for specialty meals such as "Friday date night," which would a curated menu and wine. Pop debuts a few months after Postmates announced another $80 million in funding. In addition to the speed factor, the restaurant partnerships may help Postmates Pop avoid some of the backlash that has hit the company's original delivery service.