Its fair to say the covid crisis has placed massive strain on startups across the world, and many have needed to get their creative juices flowing in order to keep their businesses afloat.
Food producers and suppliers have had to come up with new ways to sell their products, including opening new distribution channels and pivoting online. From Belgium to the USA here are just some of the countries boasting the most innovative solutions amid the pandemic.
Belgium
Local farmers markets came to a halt amid the corona virus, but the organizers behind the weekly event in Belgium “Lokaalmarkt” didnt let that stop them reaching potential shoppers. They instead committed themselves to delivering orders finding a creative solution instead of closing down completely. They set up an online ordering system whereby users could order groceries and collect them at a later date. This has allowed the market to reach several new customers.
Amid the crisis shoppers have increasingly sought local and fresh produce from online farmers markets, instead of at the supermarket. This may be due to people wanting to follow a healthier lifestyle, because they trust more local food or due to the fact that they can no longer go to a restaurant and have more time to cook nice home cooked meals.
Finland
Two of Finland’s leading food and grocery delivery companies have rolled out no-contact drop-off services as the number of coronavirus cases rose across Europe. Wolt and Foodie have both experienced spikes in demand as more people stayed at home, Wolt even launched a financial support program for couriers diagnosed with Covid-19 or for those put into quarantine.
It’s a solution that has been introduced throughout the pandemic by a number of delivery companies like Ubereats, Grubhub and Doordash. With Postmates deliveries can now be collected by customers at the door as usual or request a no-contact option with items left outside and Instacart recently launched a ‘leave at my door’ service.
Nigeria
PricePally is the online store that lets you bulk buy items with your family and friends so you can enjoy deep discounts on the prices of food and your daily needs. With the startups sales up its become increasingly clear that more people are searching where to buy in bulk to save money.
In many countries, measures put in place to stop the spread of the virus has made it more difficult for people to access affordable and nutritious food, especially those in less economically blessed families. The pandemic is accelerating food shortages with transportation and production halts, so its no surprise that more people are looking for more affordable ways to buy food.
USA
Impossible Foods, the plant-based meat disruptor pleasing vegans and meat eaters alike decided to take advantage of closing meat factories by going into retail amid the corona panic. Last March 16th the startup secured $500 million in series F funding, the leading deal in size in the consumer products sector, according to CB insights. The impressive funding round left investors and entrepreneurs wondering what the foodtech leader would do next. Then came the May rollout of its Impossible Burger across 1,700 Kroger grocery stores which marked a major expansion as well as a retail footprint 18-fold for the brand.
The startup also launched a new e-commerce site which allows plant-based meat lovers to buy the burgers online, complete with compostable packaging, free shipping and two-day home delivery.