New DC Home Delivery Start-Up Avoids Amazon-Style Packaging

WASHINGTON, DC — The Rounds is making its debut in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, with its delivery of essential goods to homes across much of the city.

Designed as a sustainable alternative to Amazon, The Rounds will be delivering and refilling everyday staples in reusable containers. “The Rounds is here, to keep your kitchen, bathroom, and vanity stocked — sustainably and locally,” the company said in a news release Tuesday.

The Rounds will focus on scheduled deliveries to avoid customers’ last-minute needs. Using predictive data science, The Rounds manages the inventory of essential goods in homes, refilling personalized amounts based on individual households' usage and delivering in reusable containers with no packaging waste on a set weekly schedule.

“The way we get everyday essentials in cities is not sustainable. Consumers prioritize convenience and have turned to online ordering for everything, which generates tons of excess packaging and waste,” The Rounds co-founder Alexander Torrey said in a statement. “The pandemic has only accelerated this trend, leading to more packaging waste ending up in landfills, rivers and oceans.”

Founded in 2019 in Philadelphia, The Rounds aims to cut packaging waste and shipping miles, helping neighborhoods reduce their carbon footprint and cities achieve their zero waste goals.

In an interview with Patch, Torrey said the company expects to reach the same level of business during its first month of operations in D.C. as it did during its first six months in Center City and other parts of Philadelphia.

For a $6 monthly fee, customers can sign up for The Rounds where households goods and groceries are delivered on a scheduled basis. The company has reached agreements with numerous apartment and condo buildings in D.C. that will allow employees to enter and drop off the goods at customers' front doors.

For an in-home membership fee of $20 a month in D.C., customers can make arrangements to have The Rounds employees enter their homes and restock them with coffee, tea, paper towels, toilet paper, dishwashing liquid and other goods. When the customers get home from work or going to the gym, their home will be restocked with a fresh supply of goods.

The Rounds purchases items direct from manufacturers, including from popular local bakeries, coffee shops, and breweries in D.C., which allows customers to receive goods at the same low price that Costco Wholesale members pay, Torrey said.

Torrey began working on the idea behind The Rounds before attending the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to founding The Rounds, Torrey started a consumer company that was featured on Shark Tank and backed by billionaire Mark Cuban.

Torrey, who also previously served as an intelligence officer with the CIA, met The Rounds co-founder Byungwoo Ko during his time at Wharton. Prior to co-founding The Rounds, Ko started an education technology company and worked at Uber in strategy and operations roles.

The founders said they selected Washington, D.C., as the company’s second market after Philadelphia in response to the city’s “vibrant market, popping with modern, sustainability-minded consumers, pro innovation, and a booming community for startups.”

Along with dish soap, toilet paper and other types of household and personal care goods, The Rounds delivers coffee, tea, cereals and other food and beverage items that can be delivered in bulk.

The Rounds is currently providing its delivery service in the District. If the service proves a success in D.C., which at its current pace seems to be the case, The Rounds plans to quickly branch out across the Potomac River in Arlington or nearby suburbs in Maryland, Torrey said.

Visit The Rounds website to learn about the goods the company delivers and how to become a member.