"The online grocery delivery market in Canada is relatively untouched," Soni said.

Grocera's business model taps two trends — online shopping and diets based on local foods.

Shoppers go to the website, shop.grocera.ca, to place orders. They select a delivery time between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m., Monday to Friday. Grocera also is active on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

"Once an order comes in, we are notified immediately," Soni said. "We have a system in place where on the back end I assign orders, deliveries and pickups to one of our drivers."

Valoppi added that "the customer will actually receive a text message on their phone saying the driver is coming towards their house, and they can actually track their location through a GPS map."

Perishable foods are transported in coolers packed with ice and are closely monitored with temperature guns.

Herrle's Country Farm Market, which has sold fresh vegetables, fruit and baked goods from its market on Erbs Road near St. Agatha for more than 50 years, is partnering with Grocera. The Herrle family farms 650 acres and grows vegetables on about 250 acres of that land.

The relationship with Grocera is both convenient and cutting-edge, said Trevor Herrle-Braun, who oversees the operation of the popular market employing 50 people.

"We don't have time for and we don't have the management for something like that," he said of online orders and home deliveries.

Throughout the growing season, Herrle-Braun stays in touch with Valoppi and Soni using BlackBerry Messenger. As different produce comes into season, he sends Grocera high-definition pictures and prices.

"And they can put it on their website right away," Herrle-Braun said.

tpender@therecord.com