Goldbely may be the world’s first company capable of delivering fresh Philly cheesesteaks by mail to your address. Find out everything you need to know about Goldbely today in our review.
What is Goldbely?
Goldbely is a specialty food marketplace that recently secured $10 million in Series A funding. Based in San Francisco, the company provides a popular service that provides iconic, regional, and local food to people across the country.
Curious Californians can try an authentic Philly cheesesteak using Goldbely, for example. Or, homesick Louisianans can order gumbo to their address in New York. Goldbely plans to use the new funding to meet increased demand and expand operations across offices in San Francisco in New York.
Goldbely has exploded with growth over the past year, during which they’ve shipped over 200,000 food orders. The company has reportedly experienced a 200% increase in customers year over year, as well as particularly strong growth on mobile devices.
Today, Goldbely orders are individually packaged by one of the company’s 300 food partners. Deliveries are available in all 50 states.
The main difference between Goldbely and its legion of meal delivery competitors is that it’s “democratizing the food industry”’, explains CEO and co-founder Joe Ariel. They aim to make local, artisan products available to anyone, anywhere. They give small business owners and regional food makers a way to compete against multinational competitors.
Goldbely was founded in 2013. Today, you can order food through Goldbely.com or through the company’s iOS app.
Popular Goldbely Foods
Goldbely’s success can be traced back to its team of “Food Explorers”. This team travels across America to find local delicacies and regional favorites. Then, foods are put through a series of quality assurance tests to ensure it can travel across the country in a fresh and efficient way.
By the time the process is complete, only 3% of food merchants are approved to the program. Goldbely prides itself on its highly-curated service.
Which food merchants have passed the company’s testing? Here are some of the companies available to order through Goldbely:
- Birthday Cake (Milk Bar in Brooklyn, NY)
- Deep Dish Pizza (Gino’s East Chicago)
- Central Grocery’s Muffuletta Sandwiches (New Orleans)
- Ess-a-bagels (New York City)
- American Waygu Corned Beef Brisket (Snake River Farms in Boise, Idaho)
- Legendary Salt & Pepper Beef Brisket (Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor, TX)
- Large Stone Crab Dinner for 2 (Keys Fisheries in Marathon, FL)
- Deep dish pizza (Chicago)
Overall, Goldbely promises to offer the best gourmet food and food gifts delivered nationwide. You can view a full selection of the company’s foods online at their official website.
The company frequently updates its selection with “Popular right Now” items – including holiday-themed items for Christmas, Thanksgiving, or St Patrick’s Day.
You can also view trendy lists – like Oprah’s “O List Picks” – to discover America’s favorite food makers.
Or, separate your search by category. Goldbely’s list is separated into categories like:
- Restaurants
- Bakeries
- Butchers
- Pitmasters
- Delicatessens
- Seafood Shops
- Confectioners
How to Use Goldbely
Goldbely is available online through Goldbely.com. The company also offers an app – although it’s only available for iOS devices. You can download the Goldbely app here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/goldbely/id925911443?mt=8 .
Goldbely Pricing
When you’re in Los Angeles, ordering a fresh pizza from New York isn’t going to be cheap. That’s why ordering two pizzas from NYC’s Joe’s Pizza will cost you about $79 – which is double what the restaurant charges in-store.
Fortunately, Goldbely’s prices include shipping. All prices are transparently listed upfront whether you’re searching on the desktop browser or online. Here are some of the prices available through Goldbely:
- Essa Bagel Baker’s Dozen + Cream Cheese: $89 USD
- St. Patrick’s Day Boozy Ice Cream – 4 Pint Pack: $99
- Jim’s Philly Cheesesteaks – 4 Pack: $99
- Monthly Pizza Subscription: $59
- Maine Lobster Rolls & Clam Chowder: $169
- Burnt Almond Torte: $49.95
- Texas Trash Pie: $37
- Pastrami Sandwich Kit for 4: $139
- Mac and Cheese Hand Pies: $89
The subscriptions are unique. They’re mostly designed as a gift – you can give someone the gift of pizza subscriptions (or, of course, buy it for yourself). With the Goldbely subscriptions, you can choose the duration of the subscription on your order, then receive different pizzas from across America. Subscriptions are available for a variety of products (although the pizza subscription is particularly popular).
Obviously, paying $139 for a kit that makes 4 sandwiches isn’t for everyone.
Each product listing on the Goldbely website features a complete list of the ingredients inside each food product, as well as a description of the product and an overview of the company that makes it.
Each company has a profile page where you can find an unbiased review of the company, including CEO Joe Ariel’s personal thoughts on a particular company. A review for Wise Sons from Ariel, for example, describes how “As a native New Yorker, I have a really high bar for Jewish Deli food….these guys handcraft some of the greatest tasting pastrami, corned beef and babka anywhere in these United States”.
About Joe Ariel
Joe Ariel is the founder and CEO of Goldbely. Born and raised in New York City, Ariel was inspired to start Goldbely after living in the Bay Area of San Francisco. Ariel missed the food he grew up with, and he wished there was an easier way to ship it to San Francisco – so he started a company that did just that.
Today, the 40 year old entrepreneur still aims to democratize the food industry by providing a national audience to smaller, local businesses that have a popular regional following – but don’t have the logistics to reach a nationwide audience.
Joe Ariel’s Goldbely profile describes him as “The Marco Polo of food”. You can learn more about him by visiting his CrunchBase profile here.
Should You Use Goldbely to Order Famous Foods to Your Door?
Goldbely is a high-priced food delivery service that delivers fresh, authentic regional favorites to your doorstep anywhere in the 50 states. Prices include shipping. Goldbely’s products include favorites in cities all across America.
Whether you’re craving a dessert from your home city, or you’re shipping a pizza subscription to a loved one going to college, you can use Goldbely to ship your favorite food anywhere in America.
