Grocery delivery services in Melbourne

What? A la carte and produce boxes, plus a huge range of groceries.
How much? No order minimum, though orders over $39.50 have no delivery fee ($12 otherwise).

This grocer can almost entirely replace your supermarket shop, offering everything from meat and pantry items to natural cleaning products. There’s a “menu” of what’s available in the box each week, from there you can customise as much as you like with a mix of fresh produce and groceries. There are even recipe cards with ideas on how to use what’s in the box.

Value hunters will appreciate the weekly specials and bulk buying options, as well as the Grocer’s Choice box which is not customisable but, the website claims, will stretch your budget twice as far as it would go in the supermarket. Real Food Grocer also prioritises sustainability and ethical sourcing, which means all meat is RSPCA-approved, all products are palm-oil free, dry goods are packaged in returnable glass containers, and you might find some “ugly” fruit and veg in your box.

What? A la carte and produce boxes, plus some groceries.
How much? No minimum spend, delivery is $8 or free for orders over $40.

Fruitastic claims to be the longest-running player in the biz, as it has been delivering to some customers since 1993. It also claims to have the freshest produce, due to the practice of buying everything the morning of delivery. The buyers head to the markets at 2am and source only what they need for that day’s deliveries, so there’s no food waste. They also source locally wherever possible, which means eggs and honey from the Mornington Peninsula, tea from the Yarra Valley, and olive oil and bread from Melbourne producers.

There are more than a dozen produce boxes to choose from, including a juice box and a stir fry box. The included items are listed online so you know what you’re getting; there are no substitutions or changes allowed but you can add any produce or grocery items that you want. Alternatively, skip the box and fill your cart with exactly what you want from the fruit, veg, pantry, bakery and dairy sections of the website. The daily specials are always worth a look, offering 10-40 per cent off a large range of items.

What? Seasonal produce boxes.
How much? Boxes start from $35, delivery is free.

We’re already fans of the Bring Me Home app (see #31 on this list), which lets you buy excess food from restaurants and cafes at heavily discounted prices. The Bring Me Home Box continues the crusade against food waste by offering weekly or fortnightly boxes filled with fruit and veg from farms that usually supply the hospitality industry. Due to the pandemic, many have surplus produce that is restaurant-quality but ultimately destined for landfill if they can’t sell it.

You can choose fruit-only, veg-only or mixed “variety” boxes, but the actual ingredients are not customisable since you’re getting what’s fresh, seasonal and available from suppliers (the online produce guide has some helpful recipe ideas.) You can also buy meat, and egg and dairy boxes. Not only can you feel good about helping the environment by reducing food waste, but you can rest assured that packaging is minimal, plastic-free and returnable.

What? A one-stop shop for online groceries in Melbourne, plus seasonal produce boxes.
How much? Minimum order $65, $9.99 per delivery for casual delivery, or $16.99 per month (unlimited deliveries).

When you order from YourGrocer, you're ordering from a bunch of different local shops, rather than one single market or supermarket. You can search by product or store, compare prices and decide where you want to buy each item from. Think of them as your own personal grocery butler. Fruit and vegetable boxes are available too, so you can order a box of fruit only, veg only or a mixture, for two or four people. There are also fruit and veg boxes that include pantry staples like oil and eggs. You can get fresh food like fruits and vegetables, meat, dairy and smallgoods, as well as premade meals, fresh pasta and grocery items like cleaning supplies or snacks.

The service works with a huge number of local independant grocers, including stallholders at the Queen Victoria, Prahran and Preston markets, St David Dairy in Richmond and Schulz Organic Dairy in Timboon, which makes the tastiest milk we've had, available in refillable glass bottles. If you're not home, YourGrocer will leave your goods in cooler bags on your doorstep; just leave the old ones out next time round to be reused.

What? A la carte and set produce boxes.
How much? Free delivery over $60, otherwise $15 delivery fee.

This restaurant supplier pivoted to home delivery during the first lockdown, redirecting produce that would usually go to the likes of Smith & Daughters, Bluebonnet and Andrew McConnell’s restaurant group. Northside’s primary offering is a weekly $60 seasonal produce box. It’s non-customisable and you won’t know what’s in the box until you get it, but you can expect locally-grown, mostly-organic fruit and veg with some specialty items thrown in for good measure – think king oyster mushrooms, purple sprouting broccoli, Jerusalem artichokes and colourful heirloom carrots.

Not sure what something is? Northside’s Instagram account will school you on your romanesco and your cime di rapa, including storage and cooking tips. Although you can’t customise the set produce box, you can supplement with additional fruit, veg and eggs. If you need a bit more predictability in your life, skip the set box and opt to build your own a-la-carte box instead. The options are slightly less exciting but you can fill it with exactly what you want; no surprises and no African horned melons.

What? A la carte and organic produce boxes, plus a sizeable range of groceries.
How much? $40 minimum spend. Delivery is $6.95, or free for orders over $75.

Fair Food is the grocery arm of the Ceres Community Environment Park and helps to support its educational initiatives. It offers organic produce boxes starting from $50, a la carte organic produce, plus a wide range of groceries that encompasses bread, dairy, fridge and pantry items, as well as eco-friendly home and body products. Organic groceries can be expensive, but Fair Food keeps things economical with weekly specials, bulk buy options, and no minimum spend. (You can also score free delivery on orders over $75 or if you collect your groceries from one of their 40 community pickup points.)

If you value responsible and ethical business practices, it doesn’t get much better than this. Produce is sourced as locally as possible (some of it is even grown in Ceres’ inner-city market garden) and imported items are always fair trade. Nothing comes from a factory farm and everything is non-GMO. They collect and reuse packaging and offset their delivery van emissions. Plus they employ asylum seekers and refugees to work in their solar-powered warehouse.

What? Organic meat, organic produce boxes and some groceries.
How much? No minimum spend, delivery is $15 or free for orders over $120.

You’re going to need some protein to go with all that veg, and this organic butchery has you covered with a huge selection of organic meat, sausages and smallgoods (including house-made ham, bacon and pastrami). You can filter items by free-range and family-owned, and read all about the ethical farms that supply Hagen’s meat, poultry and eggs. It’s definitely pricey but suited to carnivores with a conscience who are willing to increase the quality and decrease the quantity of their meat consumption.

The butchery also offers a tight but well-curated grocery selection, including sustainable fish, dairy, bread and pantry items. There organic produce boxes available as well (from $55) which are unfortunately not customisable. You can, however, add on additional fruit and veg products. Browse the value pack section for some interesting offers, including a kid’s pack, dinner party pack, and meat-and-red-wine bundles.

What? Seasonal produce boxes plus some grocery add ons.
How much? Boxes start from $29.

One of the newest players on the market, this company was launched during lockdown one by a local brother and sister team. They offer fruit-only, veg-only and mixed boxes in various sizes (none of them customisable) as well as grocery add on items. Add ons include kitchen staples (bread, butter, milk, eggs and cheese) and some straight-up Melbourne necessities (fresh cut pasta from Maria's, extra avocados).

What? Fruits and vegetables, along with a few juices and free-range eggs.
How much? Minimum spend $50, no charge for delivery.

This wife-and-husband team run a small produce business supplying fruits and vegetables to restaurants and cafés in Melbourne and regional Victoria. When lockdown happened, they began delivering fresh fruits and veggies to residential homes in inner Melbourne. You can order online by 10pm for next-day delivery, Monday to Friday. All of the produce is bought fresh each day from a wholesale market in Epping, so you know it's high quality. You choose your fruits and vegetables, rather than being surprised by a mixed box. There are also some juices and free-range eggs available.