Mariano's grocery store at 1800 W. Lawrence in Chicago, Thursday, April 3, 2014. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

       Kroger is teaming up with Instacart on a new delivery service that can get grocery items to customers in as little as 30 minutes.

       The announcement comes at a time when many people are having groceries delivered for convenience and want their items to arrive quickly.

       Kroger Co. said Tuesday that the service, called Kroger Delivery Now, will offer 25,000 items and reach up to 50 million homes. The company, which has more than 2,700 stores, will offer the service for its namesake stores as well as groceries under the Kroger umbrella including Mariano’s, with 40-plus locations in Illinois, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, King Soopers, Fry’s, and Smith’s.

       Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen said in a statement that the grocery chain had more than $10 billion in online sales last year and anticipates doubling its online sales and profitability rate by the end of 2023, with the delivery service helping to achieve that goal.

       Kroger and Instacart first partnered in 2017, with two-hour grocery delivery and now 30-minute delivery nationwide. Two years ago they added alcohol delivery to their services.

       Mariano’s parent Kroger, Instacart team on new 30-minute delivery service

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