In great demand

Suddenly, Boxed.com is the bomb

General Mills and Bed Bath & Beyond are weighing investments in Boxed.com, The Post has learned.

Big Apple-based Boxed, dubbed the online “Costco for millennials,” is suddenly among the hottest tech startups in the country because its network of distribution centers provide 24-hour delivery to wide swaths of the country.

Brick-and-mortar retailers looking to compete with Amazon need to hone their delivery chops — and Boxed.com is the largest independent online retailer standing.

But its bachelor days could soon be ending — because while the 4-year-old online retailer has attracted interest from potential investors, it is in advanced negotiations to be sold to supermarket giant Kroger, sources familiar with the situation confirmed to The Post.

Boxed could fetch as much as $500 million, according to Forbes, which first reported the Kroger talks.

Both Kroger and Boxed declined to comment.

Boxed has fielded plenty of calls from potential investors and suitors since Amazon bought Whole Foods for $13.7 billion last year and Jet.com, a Boxed rival, was bought by Walmart for $3 billion in 2016.

The one company, according to sources, that Boxed had hoped would make an offer, Costco, is not in the mix.

Boxed has largely modeled itself on warehouse clubs like Costco — selling items in bulk. Boxed sources its fresh food from Costco and sells the warehouse chain’s Kirkland private-label brand.

But unlike the warehouse clubs, Boxed does not charge a membership fee. It is weighing charging its corporate clients a fee for its recently established premium services like hotel booking and flower and wine delivery, Chief Executive and Founder Chieh Huang told The Post.

For General Mills, owner of such brands as Haagen-Dazs, Nature Valley, Yoplait and Cheerios, an investment in Boxed would give it a proprietary stake in a major national e-tailer. Meanwhile, Bed Bath & Beyond is interested in investing in Boxed to, among other things, introduce a proprietary line of kitchen merchandise, according to a source with knowledge of the talks.

General Mills declined to comment, and Bed Bath & Beyond didn’t return calls for comment.

With approximately $100 million in sales and 280 employees, Boxed is about to ink a deal for its fifth US fulfillment center. The Illinois lo- cation will allow it to offer 24-hour delivery in the Midwest, The Post has learned.

Kroger, with $115 billion in revenue, has been under pressure to expand its offerings and e-commerce capabilities since the Whole Foods acquisition. Last year, it said it would launch an apparel line in 2018.

The grocer may also be eyeing a deal with Overstock.com, according to sources. Overstock CEOPatrick Byrne said in December that he plans to sell or reorganize the e-commerce business to focus on blockchain technology.

“Buying Overstock is a very solid growth strategy if and when Kroger pulls the trigger,” said Bill Bishop, cofounder of Bricks Meets Clicks, a consulting firm. “This is a land rush right now. They know they need to grow, and it’s difficult to grow in the grocery space.”