Thrive Market vs Peapod

Thrive Market is steadily becoming a juggernaut in the home shopping industry. Their selection of products is ever growing, with a focus on substantially-sourced, organic foods and meals.

If you’re interested in eating right and have certain dietary needs, Thrive Market is excellent.

They’re relatively new to the game, but they came out of the gate swinging. Their vast selection of non-GMO food is impressive, to say the least.

This membership-based company nets their customers incredible savings, making it worth the investment.

But there’s another online grocer that offers a more intimate shopping experience. One that may not have the name recognition they really deserve. That company is Peapod.

They work a bit differently than Thrive Market, but are they better? Let’s look at each brand to see which one best fits your needs.

Thrive Market

Thrive Market is actually the newcomer here. They began operations in 2014 and haven’t let up since. Thrive Market is a membership-based company that has proven to save their customers a handsome sum on money.

By focusing on healthy foods, Thrive has cornered a good portion of the food-delivery market. Their selection of foods offered are ensured to be free of GMOs, making them the go-to choice for many dieting consumers.

Those with special dietary needs know they’re getting safe and healthy products when they order from Thrive Market. And doing so couldn’t be easier.

To shop with Thrive Market, one needs only to become a member. This costs you $59.95 a year, or $5 a month. You may also opt to shop with them on an as-needed basis. You do this by electing to pay $9.95 a month.

Regardless of whether you’re a yearly or monthly member, all Thrive Market customers can look forward to significant savings. Depending on what you’re ordering, the average savings per item compared to large retail chains is between 25 and 50 percent.

One of the features I love about Thrive Market is that they operate like they truly care about people and the environment. For example, for every new membership with Thrive, they will match that by giving a free membership to a family who has fallen on hard times.

Could you imagine being one of those families? Picture going from everyday big box grocery shopping to suddenly saving up to 50 percent on your items.

You’d have a much better chance of stocking your fridge, that’s for sure.

Another commendable endeavor is their packaging and shipping. All of Thrive Market’s delivery items are 100 percent recyclable. That’s great for the environment.

And then there’s Thrive’s warehouses, where zero waste is produced. If you’re all about saving the planet, Thrive Market is worthy of your support.

Current Thrive Market Promo:

They currently have more than 500 brands to choose from. This equals out to over 6,000 foods and products. It’s a respectable selection that continues to grow.

They offer health and fitness supplements, herbs, natural remedies, and more.

What’s great is that you can schedule certain items to be automatically delivered to your home. This ensures that you never run out of the things you use the most.

With the savings on deck, Thrive Market is a great company to use for bulk buying. Orders totaling $49 or more are delivered free of charge. This makes it easy to stock up without breaking the bank.

Peapod

You might be surprised to learn this (I know I was), but Peapod has been around since 1989. Their modus operandi differs somewhat from traditional online marketplaces.

You see, Peapod is essentially a food delivery service for specific stores.

You place your orders from grocers that are within Peapod’s own chain, and a Peapod delivery truck brings them to your door. This is kind of where Peapod falls apart, but more on that in a moment.

Peapod is owned by the same company that owns Food Lion grocery stores, as well as Giant-Landover and Stop & Shop. So you’re limited in the brands and products that you can buy.

If you don’t mind the brands offered from the aforementioned stores, however, this isn’t an issue. The great thing about Peapod is that they have employees who are trained to choose only the best (read: freshest) foods to be delivered to you.

This allows for a more personalized shopping experience. You can look forward to getting high-quality products right to your front door. And when it comes to pricing, you get the same savings offered from the above stores.

There’s no membership fee, either, which will certainly appeal to those who shop both frequently and intermittently. That being said, you can expect to pay a delivery charge of anywhere from $7 to $10 per order.

Now, here’s where the rub comes in. Peapod doesn’t have the reach that Thrive Market does. Peapod is only available in certain areas, greatly limiting their customer base.

On top of that, their delivery service is typically pretty underwhelming. Many times, orders are incomplete and aren’t packaged as well as Thrive Market’s.

There are often complaints of missed windows, with customers waiting far beyond the expected delivery time.

The concept is great; it’s the execution that fails. This results in customers having to make trips to their local stores to get the items that weren’t delivered.

This negates the need for which Peapod is supposed to accommodate.

And then there’s pricing. Thrive Market won time and again when comparing savings between the two. Their selection of non-GMO, organic, and dietary meals trumps Peapod’s by leaps and bounds.

Bottom Line

As commendable as Peapod’s food delivery service is, there simply isn’t a comparison when it comes to Thrive Market’s customer service and savings. Peapod may be the veteran of the two brands, but Thrive Market executes every aspect of direct-to-door food delivery better.

You’re getting a greater selection of healthy foods. Yes, there’s a membership fee involved. But you generally see that back in savings in no time flat. And, you can rely on Thrive Market to have your order delivered in a timely fashion.

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