After securing a $1M co-investment from the Digital Technology Supercluster, Wisebox Solutions’ DirectFood.store is quickly expanding with its first location outside Canada to provide Charleston residents access to local, fresh and organic food.
As a member of the South Carolina Department of Agriculture’s Certified South Carolina program, DirectFood.store will help consumers support their communities by buying food grown in the state.
The DirectFood.store platform will operate much the same as it currently does in Canada. By providing a one-stop shop for consumers to source fresh food directly from local producers in South Carolina, the technology solution allows food producers to list their goods on the website where consumers and restaurants can browse and select what they want.
Amidst the COVID-19 crisis, this precedent-setting direct sales business model within a common marketplace, combined with free delivery, sets DirectFood.store apart from the competition in this space. Unlike many boxed and warehoused food suppliers, DirectFood.store will provide next-day delivery of fresh, healthy and organic products from local providers with no more than one hour of travel.
The Certified South Carolina program is an exciting cooperative effort with farmers, processors, wholesalers, retailers and the South Carolina Department of Agriculture to brand and promote South Carolina products. Amidst the latest crisis in the US, consumers can easily identify, find and buy South Carolina products; this means significantly that they can take home fresher, tastier foods and support local farmers as well as the local industry.
DirectFood.store will inspire and empower South Carolina consumers to eat healthily, buy local, and learn more about the “True” farm-to-table concept.
“We’re happy to welcome DirectFood.store to the Certified South Carolina program,” said Katie Pfeiffer, Market Development Coordinator for the South Carolina Department of Agriculture. “We know that when consumers can easily find and buy locally grown food, more of their dollars stay in their community, and South Carolina’s economy prospers.”
DirectFood.store’s expansion into South Carolina will create an open network for interested consumers to find delicious and locally grown food while supporting local farmers.
Colin Schmidt, CEO of Wisebox Solutions comments, “DirectFood.store is not only positioned to become the market leader in online grocery delivery, but we are also confident that our proven technology framework will address COVID-19 related contact-free shopping immediately while delivering a fully integrated online fulfillment system that will increase profitability for local grocers and suppliers.”
The DFS solution will also improve transparency and visibility throughout the food supply chain while providing AI-driven analytics to help farmers make more sound business decisions around planting and harvesting. Restaurants and charities can use the system to order and deliver local products. They then have the advantage of advertising fresh, local ingredients. Through the traceability and transparency enabled technology, they can share which farms provided the ingredients and sell much healthier solutions rather than processed or frozen foods.
