« Social Groceries – what is it? »

Software technology is like a set of Lego bricks—you can use it to compose pretty much anything. You can create beautiful and entertaining games, or mind-blowing visualizations, but what really fascinates me is using software to help people in their daily lives.

We truly want people to eat better and live long, healthy lives. We think this is a great use of software. Our everyday consumption is a key part of how we feel and how we affect the environment, so staring with food is a simple way to effect somebody’s quality of life.

That said, we believe that it is up to everybody to make their own decision on how and what they consume. We will not preach. We allow everyone to discover different foods and groceries to their liking. We just make it a little easier to find food that is healthy and delicious.

To me, this means connecting people in a brand new way. After all, who would know more about what you may enjoy than people with similar tastes? Whether you are a casual consumer or a passionate foodie, obsessed with Thai food or Italian, or concerned with allergies, which make it difficult to find the right product, we believe that personal connections will benefit you. Forty percent of our users say they want recommendations from their friends and likeminded people. When shopping non-groceries, that number jumps up to ninety percent. Clearly there is a desire there, and as a startup, I know that we can help these people in a brand new way—from individual to individual. 

Retailers and brands have essential roles in the process as well, not by pushing the products, but by providing valuable information on the right way to use them, while providing a direct link to buy them. After all, who else would be able to provide more valuable information about the origin of the product, nutritional values or availability? 

We can’t exclusively trust information from “marketing” though, can we? That’s where Social Groceries come in; let’s call it “customer democratization.” Customers weigh in and decide if the information provided is accurate and helpful or not. If retailers and brands have done a good job being helpful, and their information is correct and adds value, users will notice and rate the recipes and products accordingly. If the information is nothing but marketing flush, the rating will suffer.

We already do this in many industries. Take electronics: there is full price transparency—Google a brand name and in a split second, you will find customer ratings and prices with direct checkout. The next step is doing this with groceries. This is not scary, just a new way of doing things that requires new way of thinking. Be there early with your customers and you will win! It’s just that simple. It’s Social Groceries.

-Kalle-