Produce Industry in 2023 : Embracing E-commerce
Why is it called produce?
- Produce is food or other things which are grown in large quantities to be sold.
- Produce foods or simply called “produce” , “organic produce”, ” ugly produce”, “produce goods” or “farm produce”, “city produce” are fresh harvested farm grown crops such as : fruits and vegetables, oats, grains and staple crops.
What does produce mean in the food industry?
- Typically, part of the global food production that is grown with the intention of being sold to consumers, or shipped to be consumed.
Is produce the same as food?
- Generally speaking, yes. As mentioned above, produce refers to food as fruits, legumes, and more complex nuts, plant-based items.
- However, food is more broad and means all plant based and animal-based products grown in farms, such as fruits,veggies, meats, dairy and milk, seafood,nuts and grains.
- Produce is a a part of the food industry focused on plant-based products.
Produce Food Industry goes digital : The Produce Digital Marketplace
The food industry is made up of numerous moving parts, all of which need to work in harmony for the entire system to run smoothly.
At least, that’s the dream. In reality, each one of those moving parts relies on a wide variety of factors and encounters many challenges along the way.
Out of all, the produce market is perhaps the most heavily reliant on external factors. It is uniquely dependent on the forces of nature.
Although several solutions have been found to bypass the uncertainty of weather patterns (e.g. greenhouses), at the end of the day, the production and distribution of fresh produce relies a lot on nature’s “whims”.
For such a complex industry, a complex solution was needed to facilitate the viewing and purchase of fresh products, as well as easing any customer concerns or doubts about the variability of product quality.
Produce wholesalers such as Fadaro connect growers and businesses customers and guarantee the safe handling and delivery of fresh products, and they do so through a digital marketplace.
How does E-commerce impact the produce industry?
Well, let’s see:
1. It promotes transparency
As a food business owner, one of your top priorities is to source the best quality ingredients for your customers. When it comes to mass-produced, non-perishable goods, that’s relatively easy. For produce, things can get a bit tricky.
When you’re purchasing fresh produce wholesale, you need accurate information to guide you through your buying process. The more transparent wholesale e-commerce marketplaces are with their product details, the better chance you have to make an informed decision for your business.
Increasing transparency through an online marketplace therefore helps the industry grow, because it builds customer trust in wholesalers and growers. Trust breeds loyalty and of course, revenue.
2. It offers precise, clear information
Being in the food business doesn’t automatically mean you know all the industry jargon from the start. A centralized e-commerce store helps demystify the complexities of the produce market. It provides precise information and defines all the necessary terms you as a customer need to be aware as you’re buying wholesale produce for your business.
Armed with clear information, you can easily choose products that have all the right attributes (e.g., size, maturity, farm of origin.). These important details make all the difference and they’re harder to grasp from a verbal negotiation than from an online catalog.
3. It guarantees product quality
An online marketplace can do wonders when it comes to quality guarantee. As opposed to in-person wholesale produce shopping, a digital store offers access to in-depth information about product origin, food safety certificates and any other documents verifying the quality of the product you need.
It can create accurate listings based on product perishability and allow for manual or automatic substitutions when a product’s quality is compromised. All of the above contribute to the guarantee that the products you order will reach you in top shape, because you have control over each step of the process.
Many markets within the food industry are bound to grow and benefit from the advancement of technology. Why? Simply because the internet increases accessibility and transparency.
But for the unique produce industry, the digital wholesale marketplace is actually revolutionary because it offers solutions for a lot of challenges the industry was facing before: quality guarantee, order flexibility and clarity of information.
It creates a space where business customers can take the time to explore a wide selection of fresh produce, inspect their quality and make an informed decision based on accurate, up-to-date information.
