Farm Shop, an online delivery service, connects local farmers and producers with consumers by fostering meaningful and sustainable relationships throughout Nepal. They aim to not only provide healthy food options, but also encourage healthy living by fostering a community of conscious and passionate stakeholders such as businesses, producers, bakers, farmers, and consumers who are focused on the holistic well-being of oneself, communities, and nature.
How was the Farm Shop established?
When the pandemic started, they had to close the Farmers market (a weekly market that takes place in Le Sherpa, Labim Mall, and Utpala every Saturday) for several months. “Our vendor's crops were all going to waste, so our team decided to do something about it and established online delivery as a way to help them," explains the founder of Farm Shop, Nilza Wangmo Rai. Within a week, they had a website up and running and were ready to start their work.
The positive feedback they received from their clients pushed them to form a new team. “Because our team is small and we attempt to assist women more, 60 percent of our employees and vendors are women,” she adds. They feel that not only should they help women, but that they should also provide a good platform for new and young entrepreneurs.
They began delivering fresh, local, and nutritious fruits and vegetables, as well as a wide range of dairy and vegan goods, freshly baked pastries, and other items. They use baskets, newspapers, or brown paper bags to deliver these groceries in order to be environmentally responsible and decrease their usage of plastic. However, when transporting items like cheese and tofu, it is sometimes impossible for them to avoid using plastics.
“Our customers return the bottles of kombucha tea, juice, and jam to us, and we give them to the vendors so that they can reuse them. We are still suffering in many areas, but we are optimistic that we will be plastic-free and entirely sustainable in the near future. Also, delivery numbers fluctuate between high and low points. There is some variation in delivery,” Rai continues.
Because the majority of their customers were from Sanepa, they decided to open a new outlet in Jhamsikhel in November 2021. “We are getting a nice response from our consumers, despite the fact that the shop is small and offers limited items. They've even approached us about opening stores in Boudha and Baneshwor, but we're still talking about it and haven't decided yet,” she adds.
Hydroponic vegetables are the most unique products in their store (green leafy vegetables). They also have vegan chocolates, vegan churpis, and vegan desserts made to order. Their most selling product is Kombucha tea, which comes in a variety of flavours.
Speaking about their future plan, Rai adds, “We want to have our own farm so that we can be sustainable and for that we’ve even reached out to farmers,” she adds.
Contact details:
Phone no:. 9801161198
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/farmshop_ktm/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/farmshopktm
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