Peapod

Grocery shopping is a headache that many busy families would rather outsource to a third party.

Companies like Instacart and Postmates have popped up to alleviate these weekly pains that people just don’t have time for.

One of these services that you may not have heard about is Peapod, a grocery delivery service that is in select markets in the U.S.

Peapod delivers groceries directly to consumers and has been in the business for the past 30 years.

To date, the company has fulfilled 50 million grocery orders for hungry customers.

But who is preparing and delivering all of these grocery orders? That’s where you come in.

The company has several entry-level positions nearly anyone can get.

The requirements for their delivery, warehouse, and food prep positions are relatively easy to meet and provide you with decent-paying job opportunities.

In this article, we’ll talk about what Peapod is and the different positions you can land with the company.

We’ll go over what you’ll make in each role, the responsibilities you’ll have, and what it will take to land a job.

Jump To:

• What Is Peapod?
• How Is Peapod Different?
• Where Is Peapod Available?
• How Does Peapod Help Me Save Time and Money?
• Signing Up for a Free Peapod Account
• Peapod Positions
  • Home Delivery Driver
  • Warehouse Associate
  • Food Prep Associate
  • Additional Peapod Job Opportunities

What Is Peapod?

Peapod is a grocery delivery company that was founded in 1989 by Andrew and Thomas Parkinson in Evanston, Illinois.

The online grocery service offers next-day grocery delivery and now serves 24 U.S. markets.

The service is relatively straightforward and follows the grocery delivery model you’ve likely seen before — a customer places a grocery order online or through the Peapod mobile app, shoppers fulfill the order in the warehouse or at a local grocery chain, and then drivers hit the road and drop off orders at customers’ homes for a delivery fee as low as $6.95.

The difference is that Peapod fulfills orders primarily through their own warehouses rather than a wide range of grocery retailers around the U.S.

The company has three primary warehouses and 21 “warerooms” that are attached to grocery stores where employees prepare and fill orders for customers.

Beyond that, Peapod also diverges from the traditional grocery delivery model in a few more ways.

Related: Save on your first Peapod order with a Peapod coupon for new customers

How Is Peapod Different?

Peapod — now owned by Ahold Delhaize — is unique among its grocery delivery counterparts in three major ways:

• They hire employees directly
• They provide grocery delivery drivers with a truck
• They offer next-day delivery as opposed to the popular same-day delivery

Other grocery delivery services, like Instacart and Shipt, hire independent contractors to fulfill orders.

Peapod hires employees directly and pays them hourly wages rather than payment for each delivery made.

You also won’t have to worry about providing your own vehicle. The company will give you a climate-controlled green Peapod truck you can drive around town fulfilling orders.

Lastly, the company focuses primarily on next-day delivery.

Although same-day delivery is on the rise, the company is slowly easing into this space.

Same-day delivery is currently being offered in pilot cities and will be available to roughly 65% of Peapod shoppers by 2020.

Before you get too excited about working for Peapod, you should first realize that the company’s footprint is rather small compared to other delivery companies.

Where Is Peapod Available?

Peapod is available in 24 markets in the United States and is slowly expanding to other cities.

Although the company has been around for 30 years, they focus on serving existing markets to the best of its ability before expanding into new areas.

You may be able to land a position if you live in the following areas:

• Chicago
• Milwaukee
• Southeast Wisconsin
• Indianapolis
• Connecticut
• Massachusetts
• Rhode Island
• Southern New Hampshire
• New York
• New Jersey
• Maryland
• Virginia
• Washington, D.C.
• Philadelphia
• Southeast Pennsylvania
• Central Pennsylvania

If your city isn’t listed, keep an eye on the website for any new markets that pop up.

How Does Peapod Help Me Save Time and Money?

As we just mentioned, Peapod functions as both a website and an app.

The platform allows you to shop at anytime, though there are some time frames to keep in mind:

• Delivery drivers can drop off your Peapod order any day between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. in your local time zone.
• The latest order you can submit is at 8 p.m. the night before a next-day delivery.
• The earliest you can make an order is two weeks before your scheduled delivery.

Once you place your order, an employee will handpick your groceries for the freshest products ahead of your order pick-up.

Even if you purchased heavily discounted items, thanks to Peapod’s everyday deals in every digital aisle, Peapod states that quality is their priority.

If you’ve chosen the pick-up option, you can pick up your order once it’s ready.

Otherwise your delivery driver will pick it up, and you’ll receive your groceries right at your door.

The main difference to note about Peapod, compared to similar services, is that it does have a minimum order of $60.

However, fees are extremely affordable — only $2.95 for pick-up and as low as $7.95 for delivery orders of over $100 — making it perfect for large families, businesses, and anyone who wants to stock up for the month.

Gas fees are typically only a handful of cents.

Plus, the company frequently offers Peapod coupons to customers to help you cut back on your spending.

We’ll dive further into how you can find these coupons below.

Using the Peapod platform in general can help you limit the amount of impulse purchases you make, reducing your spending on display items and candy bars in the checkout aisle, as you can simply search for what you need and save time.

In addition, you can purely search for weekly specials to ensure you’re always saving and never shopping for full-price items.

Signing Up for a Free Peapod Account

Unlike Amazon Fresh and Shipt, Peapod is not a subscription-based service.

This means signing up for an account is completely free, and you’re never obligated to make a purchase, though providing your credit card information is required upon signup.

If you’re a business owner, you can even sign up for free with your business account, so you don’t need to provide personal payment information when saving on office pantry supplies.

The process to sign up is extremely easy and only requires the following steps:

1. Head to peapod.com.
2. Enter your delivery zip code in the space provided. Then select whether you’re shopping for home or for your business, and tap “See Local Items.”
3. Choose between Peapod’s delivery and pick-up services for your first order.
4. You can start shopping even before you’ve created an account, but if you want to create one immediately, select the “Guest” icon in the upper right hand corner.
5. Select “Create Account.”
6. Follow the prompts by entering your email, password, delivery address, billing address, and credit card information.

Once you’ve completed the signup process, you’ll be able to make and track purchases and savings at anytime.

While Peapod doesn’t have a referral program to immediately help you save upon registration, you can get $20 off when you’re making your first order — get the code in our next section.

Peapod Positions

If you see your city on the list above, then let’s go over some available positions that you can apply for.

The positions listed below are always fluctuating and are only available in certain markets.

1. Home Delivery Driver

Grocery delivery drivers pick up orders and drop them off at customers’ homes.

These positions are either full-time or part-time and pay an hourly base rate of $14 per hour.

Plus, you can receive tips that will boost your hourly wage to around $17 per hour.

If you apply to this position, you can even receive a $1,000 sign-on bonus when you’re hired.

Sound enticing?

Let’s see what some of your responsibilities will be.

Responsibilities

Delivery drivers are required to provide timely and safe deliveries on a regular basis.

You’ll need to follow a planned delivery schedule without falling too far behind.

You may have to battle inclement weather and rush hour traffic, so be prepared to have patience and focus of steel.

You’ll also need to provide excellent customer service.

This will not only be encouraged by your employer, but you’ll also receive better tips if you drop off packages with a smile.

On top of that, you need to load and unload trucks and track every order that you deliver.

This includes organizing customer coupons, receipts, and invoices during every shift.

So what will it take to become a delivery driver?

Qualifications

Delivery drivers must be at least 21 years old and have a high school diploma or higher.

Beyond that, you’ll need to prove that you have a clean driving record and are capable of safely operating the delivery truck.

In addition, you’ll need the following qualifications:

• Have a driver’s license
• Pass DOT screening and obtain DOT card
• Pass post-offer employment screening
• Lift and carry containers up to 60 lbs.
• Must be able to climb stairs
• Have a safe driving record
• Provide excellent customer service
• Have excellent verbal communication skills

Head to the Peapod career page if this position seems like it’s up your alley.

If not, let’s look at another position you can apply for — a warehouse associate.

2. Warehouse Associate

Warehouse associates are the employees who are packaging groceries and preparing them for delivery to customers.

Peapod doesn’t mention how much this job will pay, but according to Glassdoor.com, you’ll make around $13 per hour as a warehouse associate.

You’ll also receive a $2,500 hiring bonus when you first start.

So what will be required from you?

Responsibilities

Warehouse associates will track down food items in the warehouse, scan RFID codes with a scanner, and prepare them for delivery.

This is a fast-paced work environment, so it’s important to be as efficient and productive as possible.

Part of your job will be to ensure that all food is prepared in a safe manner and that it’s clean and fresh to eat.

This requires following all USDA rules and regulations while on the job.

Let’s look at the qualifications for this role.

Qualifications

The qualifications for this role are far less stringent than a delivery driver.

Peapod doesn’t mention an age restriction on their site and also doesn’t say if you must pass a background check before being employed.

They do require employees to be able to carry up to 50 pounds of items and must be able to work in a cold refrigerator.

You must also be open to working some weekends.

Now let’s go over another entry-level position you can land with Peapod.

3. Food Prep Associate

Food prep associates prepare food in a kitchen environment that is then packaged and sent out to customers.

Think of it as one part chef and one part warehouse worker.

In this role, you’ll be working with your hands, cooking up recipes, and preparing food that will be put in orders.

In a way, you’re like the deli employees you see at your local grocery store.

Food prep associates are paid a $13.25 base rate and receive a $2,500 signing bonus when hired.

You’ll also get 50 cents extra per hour when you work in a cold refrigerator environment and an extra $2.00 per hour when you have to work on weekends.

This could add up to $15.75 per hour.

So what will some of your responsibilities be?

Responsibilities

Your main role will be preparing recipes in the kitchen.

This requires following USDA safety guidelines in a clean work environment.

You’ll need to weigh and label all of the food you prepare and make sure that you fulfill regulatory obligations, like filling out temperature logs.

Throughout your shift, you’ll also need to keep the kitchen stocked with supplies and maintain a clean workspace.

You may even need to occasionally lend a helping hand in a Peapod distribution warehouse.

Now onto the qualifications you’ll need.

Qualifications

Similar to the warehouse associate role, Peapod doesn’t list an age requirement or background check in the job description.

It does state that you’ll need to be experienced in a kitchen if you’d like to land this role.

This means having adequate knife skills and being able to use all kitchen equipment.

This includes meat slicers, ovens, mixers, and hot food wrapping machines.

You’ll need to also be able to start your shift at 6:00 a.m. and work parts of the day in a cold refrigerator.

If the three positions mentioned above don’t seem to fit you, there are additional employment options you can pursue with Peapod.

Additional Peapod Job Opportunities

The roles mentioned above are all entry-level positions that most people can land.

Beyond these roles, there are more specialized positions that you can look into if you have more experience.

These additional positions are all across the board.

You’ll find software engineer roles, digital marketing positions, merchandising managers, business analysts, and more.

These will require more experience but will also pay much higher than the positions covered above.

If you have a specialty and are experienced in a certain area, then make sure to scan through all of the available positions Peapod has posted.

Hit the Road

Landing a job at Peapod has a few different perks.

The qualifications are relatively low, it has a decent starting wage, and you can receive hiring bonuses if you land a role.

If you’re interested in any of the roles mentioned above, head to www.Peapod.com and start browsing for available opportunities.

But remember, many of these roles are location-specific.

If you don’t see anything in your area, make sure to check back later.

Or, you can opt to work for another grocery delivery service that’s in your market, like Instacart or Postmates.