SPECIALITY SUPERMARKETS: OXYMORON OR OPPORTUNITY?
Listed under: News
Published: Monday, June 22, 2009
The online retail world is a successful, constant, yet impersonal, revenue stream. This virtue/vice combination is now in the spotlight as another speciality food forum opens
The launch of greenandfresh.co.uk will follow the opening of the first Virtual Farmers’ Market (vfmuk.com), earlier this year.
The latter attracted between 800 and 900 customers within the first 12-day period, 130 of which went on to buy.
Its success indicates that shopping online is growing the speciality market, but does this expansion also risk endangering its fundamental premise: niche food sold personally by independents?
“No, it doesn’t,” says Emma Higgins, owner of Newlyns Farm Shop, Hampshire. “To threaten the place of delis they would have to be able replicate the experience of buying in a shop - which is impossible,” she explains.
“Theoretically the websites are a great idea - and they do work for some things - but the purchases are not fresh-fresh, no matter how quick the courier is. Customers will never be able to find the same indulgent experience they get from actually visiting a farm shop,” adds Ms Higgins.
However, this is not to say that retailers don’t recognise the benefits of the service.
“We all know that online ordering has its merits, but I just don’t think independents are worried about what it means for their business. We all concentrate on personal attention and quality, fresh, food that customers can chose themselves. Good luck to these sites, there’s room for us both,” she adds.
Green and Fresh readily acknowledges the scope for both avenues.
“The wider the marketplace the better,” says Colin Higgins, managing director of Oboe Marketing Communications Ltd., the company that established the site.
“By working together we can provide greater access to niche markets. Pooling our marketing resources also means we can be more successful than by going it alone,” adds Mr Higgins.
The sites will make a particularly significant impact on smaller producers who cannot survive purely on local trade from rural delis and independents.
“It would be great if small producers could make a living just by selling to their locals, but the truth is that a lot of them can't, which is where Green and Fresh comes in,” explains Mr Higgins.
“We will offer them an easy way into a national marketplace – something previously unattainable,” he adds.
By selling local produce direct to the consumer, it will be a one-stop-shop for those wanting fresh food from numerous different producers.
Fruit and vegetables, quality meat and cheeses and even micro-brewery tipples will be sold through the site.
The Green and Fresh team will be responsible for processing orders, arranging collection/delivery and paying producers for their orders electronically, twice a month. A nine percent commission from each sale (excluding delivery) will also be payable to greenandfresh.co.uk.
Registration costs a one-off payment of £175, which includes one product listing and contributes to PR, marketing and television advertising of the site.
Producers are then expected to pay £25 per product, per year, for as many products as they wish.
Companies are now being invited to register their goods before the site launches to consumers later on this summer.
To register as a supplier, visit http://www.greenandfresh.co.uk.
For further information on the Virtual Farmers Market, visit http://www.vfmuk.com
The latter attracted between 800 and 900 customers within the first 12-day period, 130 of which went on to buy.
Its success indicates that shopping online is growing the speciality market, but does this expansion also risk endangering its fundamental premise: niche food sold personally by independents?
“No, it doesn’t,” says Emma Higgins, owner of Newlyns Farm Shop, Hampshire. “To threaten the place of delis they would have to be able replicate the experience of buying in a shop - which is impossible,” she explains.
“Theoretically the websites are a great idea - and they do work for some things - but the purchases are not fresh-fresh, no matter how quick the courier is. Customers will never be able to find the same indulgent experience they get from actually visiting a farm shop,” adds Ms Higgins.
However, this is not to say that retailers don’t recognise the benefits of the service.
“We all know that online ordering has its merits, but I just don’t think independents are worried about what it means for their business. We all concentrate on personal attention and quality, fresh, food that customers can chose themselves. Good luck to these sites, there’s room for us both,” she adds.
Green and Fresh readily acknowledges the scope for both avenues.
“The wider the marketplace the better,” says Colin Higgins, managing director of Oboe Marketing Communications Ltd., the company that established the site.
“By working together we can provide greater access to niche markets. Pooling our marketing resources also means we can be more successful than by going it alone,” adds Mr Higgins.
The sites will make a particularly significant impact on smaller producers who cannot survive purely on local trade from rural delis and independents.
“It would be great if small producers could make a living just by selling to their locals, but the truth is that a lot of them can't, which is where Green and Fresh comes in,” explains Mr Higgins.
“We will offer them an easy way into a national marketplace – something previously unattainable,” he adds.
By selling local produce direct to the consumer, it will be a one-stop-shop for those wanting fresh food from numerous different producers.
Fruit and vegetables, quality meat and cheeses and even micro-brewery tipples will be sold through the site.
The Green and Fresh team will be responsible for processing orders, arranging collection/delivery and paying producers for their orders electronically, twice a month. A nine percent commission from each sale (excluding delivery) will also be payable to greenandfresh.co.uk.
Registration costs a one-off payment of £175, which includes one product listing and contributes to PR, marketing and television advertising of the site.
Producers are then expected to pay £25 per product, per year, for as many products as they wish.
Companies are now being invited to register their goods before the site launches to consumers later on this summer.
To register as a supplier, visit http://www.greenandfresh.co.uk.
For further information on the Virtual Farmers Market, visit http://www.vfmuk.com
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There are currently 4 comments - Have Your Say Today
Looking at both these sites, the goods the shopper receives may be “fresh” but the process certainly is not “green”.
Say on average you order producst from 10 different producers in an average shop at a farm shop. These are delivered in bulk to the farm shops and taken away by you in your car.
On these sites, if you buy products from 10 different producers, there are 10 vans going to collect the produce from the producers, and 10 vans delivering the goods to the consumer.
I thought in the speciality food sector we were trying to cut down food miles!
Well said Paul and not to sound dismissive or unsupportive but this appears very similar to some other schemes out there which take an equally national top down marketing/sales approach. This on mass approach that generally, from market observations, fail to deliver profits for the supplier/producer.
I’m also concerned that this business model could work out very expensive for us speciality food suppliers -From doing some basic maths on upward product/types numbers at £25 a go per year!
The majority of people are not going to go on-line buy 2 kilo of carrots or a ½ lb of ham and have them courier sent to their house from another part of the country. This disparate approach if anything compounds the issue of carbon footprint, food miles and ethical shopping that we are trying to address!
I do not personally see it as that Green and if it is to be Fresh (via same day courier in chilled courier vehicles etc ……… It looks expensive overall for the consumer and an expensive potentially ineffective route to market)
Finally…anyone that uses the expression on there website as…….. “To appear as a listed supplier on Green & Fresh, you pay a one off registration fee of £175.00 (inc VAT), initial charge of £75 ONLY which will be refunded if the site for some reason does not go live………”
is never really going to instil much confidence either
If I was a small producer, and this site actually does what it sets out to do, then this *might* make the difference between a viable and non-viable business.
However… if I was manager of 3 independent, speciality food shops that pride themselves on working hard on sourcing and on having a close and supportive relationships with their small producer-suppliers (and, as it turns out, that’s exactly what I am) then I would certainly be reviewing my range if this site takes off and products I supply are on it, particularly if they undercut my prices. And if I was considering new suppliers from the mass of products I am offered every month I would certainly count listing on this site as a mark down for exclusivity, one of the criteria that is important when we compare suppliers. And that might make a difference to the viability of the producer’s business as well.
(Footnote: as a highstreet, specialist retailer in an urban area where most people use the internet I sensibly view online sellers as competition. I recently de-listed an entire wholesaler simply because they ran a successful online business which I repeatedly saw advertised to my customers.)
I agree completely with Dominic in that supermarkets - on-line or off-line are all a threat. With the most amazing social media tools to hand and the chance of building great websites on tiny budgets, there is no reason why any brand, deli or farm shop can’t compete on a level playing field with other stores or producers - no matter what their size.
A friend of mine (Gary Vaynerchuk) took his family wine business from £2m to $40m in 7 years using ONLY social media - all of which is free.
It’s important that we all partner with the right people, but I think more people should take the initiative to work within more strategic partnerships, and not seeking out the carrot of a supermarket presence.