How has the concept of packages aided the grocery business?
For those living abroad and would want to support their parents back home, we have grocery packages to which they can subscribe. We then deliver the packages depending on the frequency agreed - weekly, bi-weekly, monthly. The packages also relieve customers of the pain of having to put together a shopping list.
You recently revamped your website. Are there any downsides to shopping for groceries online?
I only see the upsides to having a website. For example, with the World Cup happening in Qatar from November 20, Emirates has been reaching out to aggregators in Kenya and Tanzania to supply them with organic ingredients. When you have a website, it becomes easy for them to locate you. Many of them visited the farm. After they gave a go-ahead, I started the aggregating process and later export to Qatar.
What trends have you noticed among your clientele?
They love apples and flowers. They also shop on Saturdays a lot, especially month-end. Most people are not aware of the exotic fruits available like soursop. We use our platform to create awareness of these kinds of fruits, which happen to be very nutritious.