Meat is big business. According to the Food Marketing Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based trade association of food retailers and wholesalers, the meat/fish/poultry department of a supermarket is No. 2 in sales after dry grocery foods, representing 13.77% of the total sales of the store. Which is why it seems logical that Thrive Market, one of the fastest-growing food e-commerce platforms, announced that as of today, it will start selling meat, poultry and fish, with a twist – lower prices, more money for the farmers and fishermen, and support for more sustainable agriculture practices.

Thrive Market launched its online grocery store in November 2014 and ships throughout the United States. Now a darling of food-based startups, Thrive was initially rejected by the top venture capital firms and relied on raising its initial round of capital from bloggers and influencers including Tony Robbins, Deepak Chopra and Jillian Michaels. As the business proved itself, investors including Gary Hirshberg, founder of Stonyfield Farm yogurt, and Seth Goldman, the founder of Honest Tea, joined with the likes of Will Smith, John Legend, Justin Timberlake and Sofia Vergara to help fund the startup.