Starbucks partners with food delivery platform Grubhub

(Reuters) - Starbucks will partner with Grubhub to deliver coffees and other customized beverages in select U.S. markets starting this month, in its latest attempt to widen its reach as inflation-hit customers are increasingly opting to eat at home.

The coffee chain's products will be home-delivered in Pennsylvania, Colorado and Illinois at first, and then expand across the country by August, it said on Thursday.

Starbucks delivery has been available on DoorDash in the U.S. since last year. It also has tie-ups with Uber Eats and Postmates, the food delivery arms of Uber.

Starbucks said it witnessed double-digit growth in the U.S. delivery business this past quarter.

"Our new partnership with Grubhub will help fuel this growth by increasing availability of Starbucks products to Grubhub's tens of millions of customers," Meg Mathes, vice president of digital experiences at Starbucks, said in a statement.

Starbucks in April had cut its annual sales forecast after reporting a fall in same-store sales for the first time in nearly three years, as it struggled with weak demand in the U.S. and China — its two biggest markets.

The company said with the monthly membership program of Grubhub, customers would be able to buy its drinks for zero delivery charge, lower service fees and exclusive offers.

The delivery will be accessible through Grubhub's mobile app and official website.

Grubhub, a part of Just Eat Takeaway.com NV, also has delivery partnerships with restaurant and fast-food chains such as McDonald's and Wendy's.

It has even tied up with grocery delivery platforms such as Gopuff and Buyk, and companies like Starship Technologies to bring robot delivery services to college campuses.

Last week, Amazon added Grubhub to its website and app to help its customers in the U.S. order directly from the food delivery platform.

(Reporting by Anuja Bharat Mistry in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)