The business models for Plated, Blue Apron, and HelloFresh are becoming very popular. I am fascinated at all the TV commercials these brands/organizations are spending money on to get their message to the public (waste of time).
It does really seem like a great idea. If you are not familiar with these businesses. you should look them up right away. The basic idea behind these companies is to delivery a box of ingredients to customer's front door to make a healthy meal.
Amazing! That seems very similar to grocery delivery services! I was also looking at an article on techcrunch.com where they dived into the valuations of these companies stating that many of them are in the millions already and bringing in billions worth of revenue. Investors are flocking to companies like this.
I guess I understand what the big deal is?? Maybe?? The idea behind delivering groceries is the same as these business models here. However, these companies are focused on healthy and organic choices. The problem with solely focusing on the healthy/organic market is you miss entire customer segments who cannot afford the services/items. I worked for an organic baby/toddler food company named Little Duck Organic, and I couldn't even afford the items I was selling and marketing. Sure the product was delicious, but grocery services should not just end with plain ingredients.
Delivering ingredients is a great business idea. However, the cost of just serving organic buyers is insane! Normal grocery shoppers cannot afford those things (yet) as the market still has not adjusted to making those health and organic items more affordable (maybe it is all the government regulation, but that is another story.) These companies are banking that healthy and organic will take a left turn and mystically become affordable. I do not see that happening any time soon.
Grocery delivery services should not be selective and restrictive in any way! I spoke about this in many of my other posts. All grocery delivery services today (including the companies in this post) do not offer customers anything they want. Instead, you can only get groceries from Whole Foods, Shaws, or Stop & Shop. Companies like Fresh Direct only deliver to certain areas only for certain order sizes/purchases. Companies like Plated will only deliver the ingredients in the box to make a meal. That is the most ridiculous thing ever!
Any new company should not put automatic stipulations on the services they are offering. Money, time, and expenses are very important factors as to why these companies are restrictive and selective in their services. However, I guess I am an old school marketing and business professional when it comes to this subject. Spending that extra dollar or going that extra mile for your customer (or employee) is not an expense (in the long-run). Doing all these extra things will lead to great customer loyalty and brand equity which is the main objective for any company. You want customers to see your logo or your company name and automatically know who you are, what you sell, and how great your organization is.
That is why I am in business, ladies and gentlemen! Making money is great, but the real reasons I am doing this is that it makes me happy, and I am offering something to people that is unlike anything else giving customers value. Give your customers value, and you will find that brand equity.
Don't just give your customers the ingredients!
Thoughts or comments??!!
:) Jaymo
No comments:
Post a Comment