CHENNAI: A few months back, when Chennaiites were thronging supermarkets and panic-buying groceries in bulk, fearing a supply shortage, friendscum- entrepreneurs, Arun Bacthavatsalam and Kirubaraj Manimathavan, were busy working on a sustainable solution to shop safely and cater to the demand surge. On April 23, they launched Daily Locally, an online grocery store that sources fresh produce from local farmers and delivers it to patrons at their doorstep.
Speaking about the idea, Arun elaborates, “We had been toying with the idea of creating a platform for quality local produce to support the local economy as well as ensure farm-fresh goods. That’s when the pandemic pushed many struggling small-time farmers to the verge of quitting the field. We then followed a local sourcing matrix to locate ethical producers within a 50 km radius to give them employment opportunities. We ensure transparency and there are no middlemen involved.” Vegetables, fruits, dairy, bread, gourmet...offering an array of everyday goods, the team has tied up with 15 local producers.
“We audit the local producers’ farm and premises every three days to ensure organic ageing of produce, pH factor of fruits and vegetables is tested regularly, and the products are free from preservatives and adulterants. Once we get the orders, we communicate with our producers latest by 12 am so that they are prepared to meet the demands for the next day. We don’t bulk-source, store, or preserve to avoid contamination. Even on our platform, if a particular product is not fresh, then it will not show up. We do not want to compromise the hygiene aspect,” assures Arun.
The team handpicks products for each delivery, cleans, sanitises, and packs them. Customers are requested to wash the products before storing them in the refrigerator. The sourcing team and delivery riders are geared in personal safety kits. “Our main aim is to provide a safety bubble to our customers. Even if it’s a bunch of curry leaves or drumsticks, they can order without having to step out. We have collaborated with a few gated communities to take the app to a larger population. Customers from these communities need not have a minimum cart value and delivery charge.
Fifty six per cent of our customers buy repeatedly from us,” he asserts. The products get delivered from Daily Locally’s distribution centre at T Nagar to all parts of the city. “Our target audience is daily shoppers compared to monthly shoppers. The time of delivery is usually mentioned. Just in case the desired product isn’ t avai labl e or needs to be freshly sourced, then it may take extra time.
We don’t want to go commercial as there are enough players in the market for that. The next plan is to get more small-scale entrepreneurs on board, at least a 100 of them,” concludes Arun. The Daily Locally app is available on iOS and Playstore. You can also visit dailylocally. in
What you can order
Vegetables, fruits, dairy, bread, gourmet...offering an array of everyday goods, the team has tied
up with 15 local producers. The team handpicks products for each delivery.