THE FOOD ROUTE
The aim of The Food Route is to give consumers the produce as early as possible, thus attempting to maximise on the aspect of freshness. This has been done by a backward integration of resources and by classification of the segregation process
In collaboration with BigBasket, e-commerce retailer
ROLES PLAYED
This is an individual project
Research and Data gathering
Information synthesis
Ideation and co-creation
User Testing
Prototyping and Refinement
Design of final product (Visual communication, product design)
Business Model creation
CHALLENGES
Food Mileage is a measure of the distance (and time) travelled by foods. The value of the produce decreases as mileage increases. Consumers don’t trust that organised retailers give them fresh produce.
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Establishing value too efforts made by the retailer to keep produce fresh
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Consumers natural preference to small vendors
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Farmers feeling like they aren’t getting the returns they expected
After secondary research, I visited warehouses, farms outside the city that supplied these retailers, small business owners and visited the agricultural institute in the city to understand the challenges.
INSIGHTS
1. No one needs to be left behind: Farmers who follow progressive methods for their crop but don't have outreach in the cities, can partner with sellers in the city with reach who want access to fresh produce.
2. The trucks can be optimised for more efficient delivery
3. Connect the dots: Between all stakeholders in the ecosystem (Farmers to retailers, retailers to small time business owners, business owners to consumers)
4. Retailers have the information that progressive farmers need: There is an opportunity to help progressive farmers plan their crop for optimal soil fertility.
Redesign of the vehicle
With more space being designed into the doors of the vehicle and an option to sell produce from the vehicle, the retailer is able to distribute produce to smaller distributors so they can get it as soon as possible and in turn, can send it to consumers.
Impact
With this solution, the price per unit of a perishable item like a tomato is now less by 2.13 INR.
In addition, smaller retailers have access to a wider range of consumers, while progressive farmers have a better idea of demand and can plan their crops accordingly.
SOLUTION
SOLUTION
IMPACT
With this solution, I hope that:
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Farmers are better informed about supply and demand
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Small term suppliers are seen as more credible as they supply fresher produce
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Retailers have an increased reach and a more efficient delivery process
To know more, you can click this link.
