Groceries delivered to customers’ doorstep in an hour by professional shoppers. This was the promise of online grocery delivery service Happy Fresh when it started last March in Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta.
Today, the service is available as well in Bangkok and will soon open in Taipei.
“Our plan is to become Southeast Asia’s leading food marketplace company, and we want to operate in all major, traffic-congested mega cities in the region,” said Markus Bihler, Group CEO and Co-founder of HappyFresh.
Bihler is optimistic that online grocery delivery in the region is poised for take off.
“The outlook for the retail industry in Southeast Asia has never been more promising. Opportunities abound in this region with its ever more sophisticated and food-loving consumers, growing populations and steady economies,” he said, adding that Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, in particular, are very interesting markets.
“Spending power and credit card penetration are higher in KL than in Jakarta, and in general people are more used to buying things online there. Jakarta, on the other hand, is interesting because we really feel we can solve a huge problem here. We all know about the infrastructure challenges this city faces, and the traffic problems this often leads to,” he explained.
Happy Fresh believes that with online grocery shopping, it’s one fewer trip customers need to make, which often translates into several hours saved that they can now spend on other activities.
“In Indonesia, Bihler he said middle and upper-income consumers will continue to drive the growth of modern, online retailers as customers are increasingly quality-conscious, demanding higher levels of service and quality,” Biller said. “Demand for processed foods and dairy is growing, particularly in urban areas, driven by changing lifestyles as people work longer hours and seek greater convenience.
Happy Fresh targets to bring the service to the capital cities of Southeast Asia one step at a time.
Though it does not plan to set up a physical store, it partners with the most established offline grocery retailers in a locality. In-house trained professional shoppers who pick the best fresh products for customers also provide an advantage.
Delivery hours are based on the opening hours of its partner stores, which is usually between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m.
“Our message to our partners is simple: Focus on what you are really good at, which is running grocery stores. Then let us help you bring your brand and your products to an incremental set of customer groups: those one mobile devices, those who would like to order from their home, office or wherever they happen to be, and those who value the convenience of next hour delivery,” he said.
Happy Fresh also strive to help partners reach customers that are normally outside of their catchment area or would have otherwise ordered a pizza rather than next hour ingredients for home cooking.
Bihler said they offer ready to use solution to its retail partners at no upfront cost, a fleet of drivers, and customer service agents. “In short: we help supermarkets grow, reach new customers and move into digital,” he said.
“The food industry is among those that will always remain a physical, haptic, very sensual core. Yet – as any other – it will see heavy disruption by mobile technologies, ever-changing supply chains and faster lifestyles,” he added.