{"id":2042,"date":"2021-05-18T16:00:44","date_gmt":"2021-05-18T09:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bitesizebkk.co\/?p=2042"},"modified":"2021-05-18T17:11:06","modified_gmt":"2021-05-18T10:11:06","slug":"brand-spotlight-happy-grocers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bitesizebkk.co\/brand-spotlight-happy-grocers\/","title":{"rendered":"Brand Spotlight: Happy Grocers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Think about the way you shop for groceries or for fresh fruits and vegetables. For most of us, going to the supermarket or fresh markets to select weekly groceries (particularly during the pandemic, where it\u2019s the most fun we have all week), is the norm. However, what about when you want to look for more sustainable, organic and affordable options? That\u2019s where <\/span>Happy Grocers<\/span><\/a> come into play.<\/span><\/p>\n

We sat down with <\/span>Moh Suthasiny<\/span><\/a>, the co-founder of Bangkok based <\/span>Happy Grocers <\/span><\/a>to talk about all things from sustainable farming to sourcing \u201cugly produce’ ‘.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Backstory<\/b><\/h2>\n

\u201cI started Happy Grocers with my co-founder <\/span>Pearl Pattamaphon<\/span><\/a> during the pandemic, right around the first wave in Thailand,\u201d says Moh. \u201cIt started really organic from me just posting a Facebook status and asking my friends if they\u2019d like to find organic products. It just went from there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This is another case of flipping the pandemic into a business opportunity, and sometimes opportunities can begin within your own community and network.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cWe started Happy Grocers because we wanted to bridge the gap between sustainable farmers across Thailand with urban shoppers in Bangkok. Oftentimes, people simply don\u2019t know how to access organic produce, so they have to resort to supermarkets,\u201d says Moh.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Happy Grocers grew organically with the mission to support smaller farmers, and to advocate for sustainable agriculture. Oftentimes, people would prefer to support the small players and buy directly, but its simply about lack of awareness and accessibility.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Business<\/b><\/h2>\n

Happy Grocers sells online through their website, which actually just got a whole new upgrade last week and also through its grocery truck, which moved across different areas in Bangkok, from Sathorn to Sukhumvit, pre pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

With its grocery truck, you can also check out its \u201c<\/span>parking schedule<\/span><\/a>\u201d online.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The founders are very involved throughout every stage of the business, and the team currently consists of six people. Most of the process is not automated, so it\u2019s literally hands on deck like any other startup.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We actually came across Happy Grocers on Clubhouse during a \u201cDeal or No Deal\u201d room where the founders pitched to Thai Angel Investors. We also talked about fundraising.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are currently looking for funding to grow our operations and expand reach, but we also received funding from government sponsored NIA competitions,\u201d says Moh.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The business\u2019s costs and monetization are straightforward.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe order directly with our suppliers in bulk, and sell whatever we have that week,\u201d says Moh. \u201cBecause the produce is organic, things need to sell out within a few days otherwise it goes bad.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

To offset this, Happy Grocers also has special sales for things that must go.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To become a customer, simply follow Happy Grocers on Instagram, or shop directly on the website and pay online. The team does daily deliveries, you can get \u2018next day\u2019 delivery on <\/span>www.happygrocers.co<\/span><\/a> from 5pm-8pm and \u2018next hour\u2019 deliveries via Grab Mart.<\/span><\/p>\n

The landscape<\/b><\/h2>\n

The business started because the founders wanted to include those who were left out of the supply chain. Therefore, Happy Grocers is essentially creating a new space but not reinventing a category.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSince the third wave I notice that Thais are more interested in sustainability and organic produce. A lot of the inquiries I see now on the website are from Thais,\u201d says Moh. \u201cWe started with an expat customer base.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, education and awareness are the two most important bridges to the gap,\u201d says Moh.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The problem that Happy Grocers is working to solve is to close the gap between small organic farmers in Thailand and urban shoppers in Bangkok. \u201cIt\u2019s all the local goodness consolidated into one place. All you need to do is browse, select and pay,\u201d says Moh.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Supply Chain & Products<\/b><\/h2>\n

Happy Grocers currently has about 60-80 farmers on its platform, and most of them have a relationship with the Happy Grocers team.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have tried our best to meet with all our suppliers, and they have either been connected with us via word of mouth, or we source them out specifically for certain supplies,\u201d says Moh.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe place emphasis on both organic and natural farming, and because it’s more important to make sure that the practice is eco-friendly,\u201d says Moh, \u201cso we also need to educate the customer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Happy Grocers also promotes \u201cUgly Produces\u201d, vegetables or fruits that are aesthetically funny or unusual, but provide the same benefits and taste as the \u201cregular kind\u201d.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Education and accessibility are indeed crucial to raising consumer awareness. For example, Thailand actually houses several cocoa farms up north, which can then be made into chocolate. On Happy Grocers, they sell <\/span>Pridi Chocolate Brand<\/span><\/a>, locally produced and sourced from farms in Lampang, Chantaburi and Chiangrai. <\/span><\/p>\n

The founders of Pridi questioned whether Thailand can have its own cacao and they themselves couldn\u2019t find hotel and restaurant grade local cacao, so that\u2019s how the brand started. If you search for the product on Happy Grocers, the website will also list out how each chocolate bar was harvested, selected, tempered and more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWith Happy Grocers, you get transparency. We make sure to understand what we are selling and regularly talk to our suppliers about how each produce is harvested and maintained, up to the very last process of setting the right price,\u201d says Moh.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnother important element to Happy Grocers is fair trade. This is one of the key reasons we founded the business, and we have very transparent conversations with our suppliers about price, which should reflect not only the value of their organic produce but their dedication.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s Next?<\/b><\/h2>\n

\u201cIn the future, we just want to keep scaling up our business and expand the team, as well as scale up operations to help us with things like delivery, storage and more,\u201d says Moh.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of things we want to focus on, which centers a lot on upping marketing efforts to reach a wider range of people as we grow. The next goal for us is to also expand operations in order to accommodate more orders and sales\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The company\u2019s ideology is to listen to customers\u2019 feedback, so that will continue to be a focus as Happy Grocers continue to grow. <\/span><\/p>\n

A lot of what the co-founders change and implement is actually from direct feedback, which is a refreshing way of doing business.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cHappy Grocers isn\u2019t just a platform that sells fruits and vegetables, but we are also trying to create a community that provides knowledge and educates the consumers, as well as help create a sustainable network for the farmers themselves. It\u2019s tackling these things one step at a time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Think about the way you shop for groceries or for fresh fruits and vegetables. For most of us, going to the supermarket or fresh markets to select weekly groceries (particularly during the pandemic, where it\u2019s the most fun we have all week), is the norm. However, what about when you want to look for more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2050,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,7],"tags":[492,698,697,668,700,699,701],"yoast_head":"\nBrand Spotlight: Happy Grocers - Bitesize<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bitesizebkk.co\/brand-spotlight-happy-grocers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Brand Spotlight: Happy Grocers - Bitesize\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Think about the way you shop for groceries or for fresh fruits and vegetables. 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