Field report from Trinidad and Tobago
Enabling consumers to purchase grocery products online, D’Market Movers is an innovative initiative connecting farmers directly to the marketplace. Locally produced niche items such as gourmet chocolate, specialty goods that are difficult to find, as well as organic produce, vegetables, meat, and dairy products are posted online. People click to order and D’Market Movers delivers the products direct to the consumer.
“I used to plant lettuce and sell at wholesale markets,” says D’Market Movers’ founder, David Thomas. “We would normally sell to middlemen but I realised that if we sold directly to the consumer, we could double or triple our profit margin.” To give farmers direct access to consumers, cut out the middlemen and increase producer income, the company launched an online marketing model with the ICT expertise of business partner Rachel Renie. D’Market Movers now stands as one of the best examples of a successful agribusiness using ICTs in Trinidad and Tobago.
Two way relationship
Consumers are drawn to the online platform for its convenience. And producers want to work with the company for its strong consumer access. Now with over 140 products, D’Market Movers continues to expand and is looking to enter the export market with a frozen fruit yogurt product.
“Our business is dynamic in that we always keep in mind that we are dealing with agriculture which is at the mercy of seasonality, supply, demand, time and perishability,” states Renie. “More importantly, we remember who we are selling to. Not every customer remains a customer. This is a major lesson we’ve learned.”
Based on this philosophy, the co-founders regularly seek feedback from their consumers on current products as well as to test new products. The company engages with consumers through social media, as well as their website. “We always ask for feedback. One of the advantages of being an online company is that we can easily gather data and analyse specific trends for future strategies,” Thomas adds.
Local links
A new face-to-face service called ‘Our Moving Table’ has encouraged consumers to buy local foods. Together with local partners, chefs and other similar agribusinesses, ‘Our Moving Table’ is a roaming event that provides communal dining to showcase local products. The entire menu features items only available in Trinidad and Tobago. Also referred to as ‘farm dining’, the monthly event held outdoors encourages consumers and the general public to support local producers when they eat out. “We promote the moving table event via social media and so far each monthly event has sold out. Our customers feel more connected to us and also to the producers that supply the food, as they know where it comes from,” enthuses Thomas.
One particular customer, Christian Cwick explains the benefits of D’Market Movers. “I work at a large prominent company and we use D’Market Movers to show appreciation to our clients. We purchase fruit baskets and other gift bundles. For us, convenience is paramount because we know that D’Market Movers will make time to find the best produce so that, in turn, we can make the best impression on our clients,” he explains. Cwick adds that D’Market Movers’ reliability, convenience and consistent quality provides value for money.
Whilst Renie established the business and uses social media to interact with consumers, Thomas, as a past producer himself, is well-connected to D’Market Movers’ supplier network. Many are greenhouse farmers growing high-quality but perishable products in more remote island areas so were unable to get good prices at local markets. But, by creating demand through its online platform, D’Market Movers provides a higher profit and producers now refer the company to other growers.
“D’Market Movers assists us with marketing our perishable product,” says Dereck Legall, a sweet pepper and tomato producer. “It’s greatly important to us that we agree a year-round price to ensure we always make a profit,” he states. He adds that the ‘Our Moving Table’ initiative has also been encouraging for producers. To help D’Market Movers make more accurate predictions of available produce, Legall keeps them informed of his production cycle. Simultaneously, he has moved toward producing niche items in response to consumer demand. For instance, instead of producing the common variety of patchoi (bok choy), Legall now produces Swiss chard.
D’Market Movers continues to grow by adding new, innovative products and services. By paying attention to consumer feedback, the company maximises satisfaction whilst maintaining its core values of health, wellbeing and customer satisfaction. The farmers also benefit as they not only engage with D’Market Movers but also with each other; the company’s farmer network has grown via recommendation and referrals. By interacting with each other and sharing the available market demand that is provided to them, the farmers are working together to be well-connected in the local marketplace.
