Ask HN: Talk to your users. What is your opinion on an Online Farmers Market?

[flinstoning]

I am working on an online market where people can buy locally grown/sourced fruits, vegetables, eggs, meats, etc., from local farmers. In addition, they can also buy small batch foods from artisanal food makers- breads, cheeses, jams, etc. The goal is to create access and make it convenient for people to order from their local farmers/food crafters, while at the same time allowing these small businesses to expand their online customer base.

In the back-end we are working on optimizing delivery routes and inventory management.

We have conducted about 300 orders and spoke with customers and non-customers which we consider our end-user, or households. Some of the feedback we have gotten has been insightful. Among some concerns from non-customers is: not being able to touch/see/feel the produce in person.

We would love to know the HN community's feedback on:

What would make you (or woudln't make you) try something like this? What are some concerns you may have? Pros and cons? Any advice for tech infrastructure, or community adoption?

Thanks in advance!

[JohnFen]

Although I buy very nearly all my produce at a farmer's market, I don't think that I'd use something like this.

> Among some concerns from non-customers is: not being able to touch/see/feel the produce in person.

This is the primary reason why. Another reason is that I buy produce basically on an as-needed basis, so ordering and waiting for delivery wouldn't really work well for me. All that said, in my area the farmers already have pretty good internet presences. Introducing a third party into the whole exchange seems like it would just add additional overhead and distance without bringing much in the way of real value.

Maybe, if I lived somewhere where it was more difficult to go to a farmer's market, this would be something of interest to me, though.

[flinstoning]

You brought up some great points and I really appreciate your point of view! Let me ask you this: When Amazon first started there were the same concerns of not being able to feel and see the product before buying; let alone, having it the same day you need it.

I know it is different with food, but what are some things that would make you- as we would consider our hard-side - to even consider trying?

[JohnFen]

There's a world of difference between buying produce and buying a more durable good. Produce has a short shelf life, and it is not uniform. When I'm selecting produce, I'm not only looking for it to be fresh (or sometimes even at a very specific ripeness point), but I'm also often looking for a specific size, or more rarely, but sometimes, for some other specific physical characteristic. I wouldn't trust a stranger to be able to tell which piece I want. Obviously, how true this is depends on the specific crop. Lettuce, for instance, is fairly interchangeable, and grains such as wheat are entirely interchangeable.

If I buy something sight unseen from Amazon, I can return it if it wasn't exactly what I wanted. With produce, even if I could actually return it, there's no way it's getting resold, so it's instant food waste. So I feel that it's inherently unreturnable. Also, it would mean that I'd likely have to make an unplanned trip to the store to buy a replacement, or do without, for the meal I was planning to use it in.

It all seems like a bunch of potential inconvenience and bother that can be easily avoided by just going to the market.

I don't want to sound negative about the idea despite all of this -- this is very specific to my own situation and location. Most of the world lives differently than I do (that's true of all of us.) I could see it working, at least in some markets. And there are food deserts that could be excellently served by something like this, especially if there's a delivery component.

[flinstoning]

I can’t express how much I really appreciate the feedback and your time for sharing! If I could get you a coffee, or a drink of your choice I would! Lol… thanks again!

[Bender]

Just me personally, I would only go as far as to mention in a local community forum there is a farmers market on {n} dates. I would expect people to want to visually inspect the produce at least the people I know in this neighborhood. Some people go to farmers market to socialize. For people that don't care to inspect the produce they just put in an order with the local grocery store to have food delivered.

[flinstoning]

I agree with you on the socializing part. We understand that there are some human interactions and behaviors that cannot be changed or would be nearly impossible to. We don’t aim to drive people away from attending farmers markets, but more so convenience for those not able to attend or who do not have markets nearby.

I really appreciate your input!

[noir_lord]

How are you ensuring that the goods sold are actually local farmer products?

That’d be my first thought as a customer.

Given we currently have a rumbling “honey” scandal in the UK.

[flinstoning]

Great question. We conduct site visits and only work with farmers that have a verifiable farm. If we cannot see a specific product being grown on their land, but they are selling it, then we don't source it unless we know who grew it.

[noir_lord]

That seems like a solid place to start, I’d still be wary about supply chain though, using honey as an example just having bee hives doesn’t mean the honey going in the post came from them.

This is an issue a lot of retailers have tbh, it’s why the scandal w/honey came to mind since it was in the press again recently.

Good luck though, it’s an interesting idea, we use our local farmers market occasionally and some of the stuff (ironically honey is a good example) is incredible.

[flinstoning]

Thank you very much! If I make ask, What kind of acts of transparency would make customers like yourself gain just the slightest trust?

[mikequinlan]

How is this different from the local Reko markets?

[flinstoning]

On the front-end it may seem the same, but on the back-end we are focused on delivery route optimization to shorten the supply chain and algorithms for a much more tailored shopping experience.