Farmstead Hires Netflix Veteran Paul Johnson as Head of Operations Excellence

Johnson was also one of Farmstead’s first customers

BURLINGAME, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Farmstead, the first online grocer to offer fresh, high-quality groceries, delivered for free, at better prices than local supermarkets, announced that it has hired Paul Johnson to its executive team as head of operations excellence. In this role, Mr. Johnson is tasked with taking Farmstead’s already pioneering online grocery software operations and helping to scale it into a world class system to accommodate Farmstead’s rapid expansion throughout the U.S.

Before joining Farmstead, Johnson served as Operations Director for U.K.-based Atom Supplies, where he transformed work practices to deliver rapid improvements in warehouse, product development and software development processes, leading to record high single-day shipments, and supporting 40 percent annualized business growth. Before that, he was Director of engineering at Netflix where he was tasked with strategic and management responsibility for the DVD division’s Engineering group, including the hardware and software automation powering millions of DVD envelope returns per day.

“Considering Paul was one of our first customers, we are excited to welcome him to the Farmstead team,” said Pradeep Elankumaran, co-founder and CEO of Farmstead. “Paul is well known for how to build massively scalable, world class systems, and this expertise is critical for helping Farmstead meet the needs of shoppers around the country as we rapidly expand to new markets this year, and beyond.”

“Having been one of Farmstead’s earliest customers, I have seen first hand the powerful application of advanced technology to solving the myriad of problems which still plague traditional grocers, including poor inventory management, manual procurement practices, food waste, and most importantly, an inability to meet shoppers’ demand for economically attractive home delivery,” said Mr. Johnson. “Grocery delivery is an idea whose time has come; in fact I’ve seen this first hand during my recent stint working in the U.K. where home delivery is a good ten years ahead of the US.”

With active hubs in the Bay Area, Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham, N.C., Farmstead has announced upcoming openings in Nashville, Tenn., and Miami, and plans to open in at least 13 more markets this year.

Farmstead is known for leveraging proprietary AI technology and a dark store model – delivery-centric warehouses that serve a 50-mile radius, delivering many thousands of orders per day – to maximize efficiency and reduce costs. As a result, Farmstead offers consumers prices comparable to or lower than most supermarkets, but with free delivery to doorstep. The company is growing quickly, with plans to expand nationwide to a primarily mid-market audience.

About Farmstead

Farmstead is the first online grocer to offer fresh, high-quality groceries, delivered for free, at better prices than local supermarkets. Using AI technology, Farmstead has reinvented the grocery buying experience and rewired how food moves across the country, to significantly reduce food waste and fulfill its mission of making high quality, locally sourced food accessible to everyone. Visit https://www.farmsteadapp.com or follow @farmsteadapp.