• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, December 12, 2008

One of the biggest obstacles to the growth of online ordering of groceries has been the inability to view and touch food--particularly fresh produce and meat. Now, leading online grocer FreshDirect thinks it's got the produce challenge licked.

FreshDirect--whose expanding New York service area now includes Manhattan and locations in Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and the Bronx, as well as parts of New Jersey and Westchester and Nassau counties--has introduced a five-star rating system designed to "take the guesswork" out of ordering fruits and veggies online.

The Daily Produce Rating System is based on a daily inspection of all produce in stock by a quality assurance team. Rating criteria include taste, color, firmness and ripeness. Rankings are based on an easy ratings scale: five stars signify "never better, the best we've seen"; four stars indicate "great/delicious"; three stars mean "good/ reliably decent"; two stars indicate "average/inconsistent quality/generally OK"; and one star signals "below average/expect wide inconsistency in quality/probably out of season."

Results are updated each morning on FreshDirect's Web site to let customers know which fruits and veggies are the best bets for deliveries to be received on the following day. For instance, if apricots score a four-star rating, buyers are assured they will be in top form when delivered the following day.

FreshDirect CMO Steve Druckman describes the ratings system as one of several new improvements being implemented to enhance the online shopping experience and customer service. Others have included more delivery time slots, more sustainable packaging, quicker responses to customer emails and an expanded wine selection.

The company currently has more than 250,000 customers and has fulfilled more than seven million orders since launching in September 2002.