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FreshDirect

by Willy Franzen on May 12, 2008

FreshDirect Logo

Some people love grocery shopping, some people hate it, and most people don’t have time for it. If your college campus was anywhere near a Wegmans, then you probably made time for the supermarket; however, once you start working a full-time, entry-level job in a city with no Wegmans, grocery shopping will likely become an imposition. That’s where FreshDirect steps in. They deliver fresh, affordable food to your doorstep quickly.

How Do They Do It?

Ordering groceries online isn’t a new idea, but doing it right is. There have been quite a few grocery companies that have offered online ordering, but most have missed the mark in one way or another. FreshDirect has mastered “just in time” production to get their customers the freshest food and the best prices. Grocery stores are expensive to run and middlemen hike up prices. FreshDirect avoids both of these costs by controlling the entire distribution process. They have a huge refrigerated facility, where they store and prepare food that is “made to order.” FreshDirect only operates in the New York City area right now, but they’re rapidly expanding.

Fresh Jobs

FreshDirect’s Jobs page shows quite a few openings, many of which appear to be entry-level. It’s hard to tell, since FreshDirect chooses not to fill in the experience box on many of the postings. The only job that is explicitly described as geared towards new college grads is as a FreshDirect Experience Analyst; however, these jobs also require little or no previous work experience: Merchandising Analyst, Purchasing Assistant, Purchasing Assistant, Produce, Operations Analyst – Plant Operations, Analyst, Quality Assurance, Logistics Analyst, and Junior HR Generalist, Plant Operations. The descriptions for each listing are quite detailed, so you should be able to tell which jobs will best fit your experience and education. All of FreshDirect’s jobs are located in Long Island City, NY, which is actually a neighborhood in the borough of Queens, not its own city. There’s not much more information available about what it’s like working for FreshDirect, but there is a photo tour of their plant.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you get your groceries delivered? By FreshDirect? How do you like it?

Do I Know Anyone at FreshDirect? - Check LinkedIn | Check Facebook

{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }

fdconscience May 15, 2008 at 8:32 am

Considering the mention of Wegmans I wonder if this is not a fluff piece for
the recently demoted former CEO of FreshDirect who married into Wegmans.
FreshDirect is a classic case of Jacks of all Trades masters of NONE. Let’s be
clear that “made to order” is more comparable to “a la minute” and it’s made to
someone’s order not necessarily yours.

Alas, the career opportunities (or servitude depending who you ask). I find it
interesting that little to no job experience is necessary for most the jobs but
a B.A. is required. When you have no point of reference (as an employee)
you are much easier to manipulate and exploit.

It’s the blind leading the blind. All those B.A.’s yet they keep walking into
walls. They are really wranglers. It’s not management but movement they are
concerned with.

Servitude is more like it since their hiring practices suggests they want to
exploit the ex convicts and sex offenders they deliver to your door with your
groceries.

fdconscience08 May 15, 2008 at 12:50 pm

What ever happened to free speech? I see comments I left this morning have
been removed.

Willy Franzen May 15, 2008 at 1:29 pm

Hi fdconscience,

Your comments were not removed. They were held in moderation. We moderate all comments to ensure that no spam gets through. We believe in transparency, so we welcome comments from anyone who has an opinion on a company that we feature, as long as they are respectful and add to the conversation. By the way, there’s no such thing as free speech here. That is a constitutional right – it doesn’t give you the right to post whatever you want on someone else’s property (yes, this website is my property). We welcome your opinions, but next time please back up your opinions with fact and use your real name. It will add a lot of legitimacy to what you have to say. You could also state what your interest in FoodDirect is, since it seems that you have some sort of vendetta against them. It’s ok if you work for a competitor or are a former employee, but we’d like to know what basis you have for your point of view.

As for this being a fluff piece because of the mention of Wegmans, that’s just not true. We have no affiliation with FreshDirect (or Wegmans), and we didn’t even know about the former CEO’s marring into the Wegmans family (if that’s even true). We wrote about FreshDirect because the company and jobs looked interesting, and we thought that our readers might want to take them into consideration. Although we do significant research when we feature a company, we can’t cover it all. That’s why we see our posts as a starting off point, as opposed to a direct recommendation. Our blog is full of recommendations on how to research employers, and we hope that all of our readers use those tips when they consider employment at a company.

Thanks for commenting, but please try to back up your accusations next time.

fdconscience08 May 15, 2008 at 3:06 pm

Thanks for responding. I didn’t realize it took that long to post something. I am a former employee. A vendetta is a bit of an exaggeration but what I posted is not. If you ever get deliveries ask your delivery person’s name (over a period of time) then go to any offenders registry and see what you find. As a former employee and supporter of FreshDirect it is very disheartening to find out the hands that once fed you are so filthy. I have chosen not be associated and long gone when these things are bound to come to light. Most people don’t do that extensive a search when they are looking for jobs, I certainly couldn’t image what I know now.

Willy Franzen May 15, 2008 at 5:26 pm

Well, that’s why leave the comments section open. It’s important that information like this is available to job searchers. Thanks for your comments. We value your opinion, but we hope that our readers remember that it is just that – one person’s opinion. There’s no way to verify the accuracy of information left by semi-anonymous commenters.

The reason it takes varying amounts of time for a comment to get approved is that everything has to go past me. If I’m busy, it could take a while. If I’m right at the computer, I can usually approve them quickly. I can also moderate comments from my phone, but I try to make sure that any comments that might be seen as inflammatory has an follow up comment from me.

fdconscience08 May 20, 2008 at 11:03 am

Effective this Friday the president’s (former CEO) term is up.
It’s only surprising it didn’t happen sooner.

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