How to Start a Local Veg Box Delivery Service

12 min read

Online food delivery sales continue to rise and gain popularity among consumers, making it a very appealing industry for many to want to jump into. The number is in the millions for consumers who prefer having their products delivered to their homes, prioritizing convenience and speed. The food delivery market is expected to grow to $126.91 billion in 2021 as more people seek better quality and affordable food sources.

Source: Online Food Delivery Services Global Market Report 2021: COVID-19 Growth and Change to 2030

As Americans continue to tap into the world of health and wellness, and many seek to learn more about ethically sourced and organic fruits and vegetables, we continue to see a desperate interest to find reliable and trustworthy ways to acquire products like these regularly. When we combine this current demand for convenience with the ongoing interest in reliable food sourcing, we notice how the vegetable boxes delivery industry becomes the perfect solution.

This is exactly what this post is all about: dismantling the vegetable delivery industry as we determine whether it is worth it or not. Continue reading as we tap into how local veg box delivery works and everything you need to start your own.

Veg Box Delivery Ends the Gap Between Local Farmers and Consumers

Veg boxes delivery service is not only a great way to meet the existing demand for farm-fresh products, but it also seems to work as an awesome opportunity to support local farmers and push for sustainable ways of farming.

Owners of local vegetable delivery services make the connection between shoppers and farmers ten times easier. Through a vegetable delivery service, shoppers have quick access to a dense inventory of farm-fresh vegetables that are at the tip of their fingers and can be delivered straight to their homes by simply subscribing to your business.

Setting up regular subscription payments for fresh fruits and vegetables is a great way to ensure consumers always have access to organic and ethically sowed products and help sustainable farmers no longer suffer the losses that come with a surplus. Ultimately, online product delivery services can quickly put an end to the growing demand for high-quality and affordable products that many find so hard to find, making vegetable delivery services a smart business choice.

Popular Vegetable Delivery Services

Although this is a relatively new market, the competition is still there. There are a couple of industry leaders that continue to revolutionize the way online product delivery is done and have shaped the public’s view of it. Let’s take a quick look at some of the most popular product delivery brands out there that are currently transforming the industry.

Imperfect Foods

Imperfect food is known for its mission to end food waste by offering home delivery of fresh products that come from either local or big farming cooperatives. Their items are individually priced and consumers only shop what they need, which is then delivered to their doors in a recycled cardboard box.

Misfits market

You may have come across one of their ads. Misfits is currently taking over the internet, making the vegetable delivery industry more and more appealing to those new to the idea.

The brand is focused on the selling of fresh, certified organic products that major stores or farmers can no longer sell due to surplus, scarring, being too small or discolored in appearance, etc., and sells them at convenient and affordable prices to online buyers. Shoppers then choose from a wide variety of products that they need and have their choices delivered to their doors.

Farmer Jones Farm

Farmer Jones Farm is another popular veg delivery service. The brand relies on organic and regenerative farming practices and claims that crops grown in this type of soil have the best flavors and nutrition content. They offer one-time purchases or subscription services.

Farm to People

Farm to People attracts many consumers’ attention with its mission to source products from strictly GMO-free and organic farms, which are then delivered to shoppers’ doorstep using low-waste compostable packaging.

These are just a few of the many others out there. The business model proves to be efficient as we continue to see many others join the trend and reap positive results.

How Does Veg Box Delivery Work?

Vegetable box delivery typically works by subscription. Potential customers perform a quick online search and then come across your website, where they’d be asked to sign up for a weekly or monthly delivery service of fresh fruits and veggies. Customers then expect diversity and variety with every box delivery they sign up for, or you can always choose to offer them the possibility of buying items individually and have them customize their delivery box.

When it comes to offers and sales strategies, you can offer shoppers customizable boxes, bags, bundles, or baskets; it will all depend on your availability and business preferences. You can also be creative with your offers and make it more convenient for special orders by:

Pre-selling your products ahead of harvest by securing pre-orders.
Offering different pricing sheets according to order size.
Sell fixed price per unit or by weight.
Offer subscription perks to encourage one-time purchasers to subscribe.

No matter your sales strategy of choice, you’ll want to make sure you pack fruits and veggies in boxes or containers that allow for proper airflow to ensure a successful and safe home delivery.

As you can probably start to see, the possibilities are many when it comes to this kind of online service; all you need to get started is to contact the right suppliers and create a place for your customer to buy from you.

When it comes to payment, you’ll notice many shoppers prefer a subscription basis as it helps avoid a repeated checkout process, helping them save money and time. You can set up recurring billing with Ecwid for free using any of our payment tools found in our app market. to learn more about setting up recurring billing for your store, check out How to Set Up Subscriptions.

What is in a Veg Box?

You can expect a variety of farm-fresh and flavorful fruits and veggies when you order a veg box. Whilst this is the norm, you’ll also notice some companies choose to expand their options beyond the vegetable market and offer meat, dairy, jams, and so much more. The sky’s the limit when it comes to food delivery.

Most product subscription boxes come in different sizes, but it is common for these to include a mix of 12 to 14 different types of farm-fresh fruits and veggies. These usually come from sustainable and organic farms and include products like gala apples, beets, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, iceberg lettuce, peppers, and basically anything that is in season or can be easily transported.

In the end, most people want products that can’t be easily grown in their backyards or that don’t rot easily. You may want to avoid products like tomatoes and zucchini, which don’t tend to travel very well.

Are Veg Boxes Worth it?

Although some shoppers are skeptical of produce delivery services, things seem to be shifting. As more produce delivery businesses continue to populate the market and advertise to the public, we continue to see a growing interest from consumers to give veg delivery services a try.

Another reason is, as good quality and farm-fresh vegetables that are sowed sustainably become harder to find, and more of a luxury, more people are willing to pay for services like these that help the environment and bring quality food to their tables. Factors like these and convenience are what make local veg delivery worth the try and investment.

How to Start a Veg Box Delivery Service

Once you’ve figured out whether this is the right choice for you, next you will need a website for your customers to shop!

It is easy to set up a store with a platform like Ecwid. Once you sign up for your free site, you’ll have an easy-to-navigate online store in a matter of minutes. Yes! That’s all it takes to have a store.

After you have a shop, as a new store owner you’ll have the option to configure your site and manage your products and orders the way you want. You can add all of your photos and text in just a few clicks and have a professional-looking website.

You can sell veg boxes on a subscription basis with Ecwid. For more information on how to set up an online store, check Getting Started with Ecwid.

Setting Up Local Delivery

The bottom line is, when setting up your local veg delivery store, you’ll want to find as many local farms as possible to partner with. You can also contact a product distributor like Albert’s Organic or Global Organic to source your product. You’ll then want to set specific delivery days to minimize gas costs and save time. You can either try delivering the boxes yourself at first or hire someone for help.

As you start to research and speak to local farmers, you’ll be surprised at how many are fond of the idea. With the right help and attitude, you have very little to lose. What’s stopping you from getting started? Is there something specific that we can help with? We encourage you to comment below, someone from the Ecwid community or a fellow merchant will be happy to help you along the way.

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May 11, 2021

About the author

Max has been working in the ecommerce industry for the last six years helping brands to establish and level-up content marketing and SEO. Despite that, he has experience with entrepreneurship. He is a fiction writer in his free time.