Giving consumers more convenience
Alepa Kauppakassi's mail boxes now deliver your mail and your grocery shopping to the same place. Source: Helsingen Sanomat
First place for the ‘non-store concept’ went to Hungary’s ‘Adopt a laying hen,’ a service which creates an online platform to place orders and deliver eggs to customers, eliminating retailers in the supply chain.
Greek milk cooperative ‘Thes Gala’ (Want milk?) picked up second place. It allows consumers to buy fresh milk from 24/7-operated vending machines at a lower price than in supermarkets.
Meanwhile, third place went to Alepa Kauppakassi in Finland, an online grocery service which delivers shopping and places it in a special chilled mailbox. Part of the mailbox is for letters and post while part of it has a refrigerated section for your food.
“[This] guarantees that consumers with tight schedules who are most likely to use the service are provided with a flexible and convenient solution,” said the judges.
Michelle Malison, retailing associate at Euromonitor International who headed the awards, explained to FoodNavigator why all three concepts work: “Because these companies had to build their own infrastructure, it is not likely that it’s that there is a lot of cost savings to selling direct as opposed to through grocery retailers.
“However, both companies sell commodities so setting up these innovative concepts that appeal to consumers looking for fresh foods delivered in a convenient manner is a way to set them apart from their competitors. It could help them gain share in the retail channels due to higher brand awareness.”