Market Trends Have Changed, Kedai Sayur Targets Home Users

Kedai Sayur released an online messaging service for B2C food products. This step was taken to meet the increasing demand for home users since the government implemented the PSBB to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Through a written statement, Kedai Sayur CEO Adrian Hernanto said the food product market trend has changed since the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Before (pandemic) Covid-19, we were very confident in B2B sales to hotels, restaurants, and cafes. The growth was more than 20 percent per month. However, since March, the demand has dropped by almost 50 percent,” Adrian said.

Along with this trend, Adrian said, “there was a significant increase in demand for [food products] originating from vegetable vendors and also household customers.”

Adrian also said the operational restrictions on the wholesale and local markets disrupt the distribution patterns of fresh food products in Indonesia.

“The impact is not only customers who cannot shop at the market. Farmers also lose the medium to distribute their crops,” Adrian said.

Therefore, Kedai Sayur decided to accelerate the launch of B2C services, so that customers could meet their daily food needs while running PSBB. Through the KedaiSayur application and official stores in Tokopedia and Blibli, the company serves the delivery of vegetables and side dishes directly to the customer’s home.

Initiative for Farmers

Kedai Sayur launched an initiative that helps farmers to distribute their crops to customers. The initiative was carried out in direct collaboration with farmers through the Ministry of Agriculture. Farmers can sell their crops assisted by the government using the digital vegetable shop platform.

“Now with supply chain expertise and digital platform technology, Kedai Sayur contributes to both sides of the distribution patterns affected by the Coronavirus,” Adrian said.

Kedai Sayur also provides a Donation Package program for people or companies who want to make donations in the form of food. Kedai Sayur manages the distribution of the food package to residents who live or work in the red zone as well as to individuals who lose income due to Covid-19.

For information, last year Kedai Sayur announced funding of US $ 1.3 million from a group of investors led by East Ventures.

Through this funding, the startup company that was established at the end of 2018 has a mission to help vegetable traders by disrupting the supply chain of fresh products trade in Indonesia utilizing technology.

Collaboration with the Directorate-General of Horticulture

The Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) cooperates with the startups of Kedai Sayur and Cigombong Sub-District Agribusiness (STA) in Cianjur Regency in overcoming the problem of food distribution. Food distribution is currently a problem due to the impact of the co-19 pandemic.

The cooperation was stated in the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Directorate General (Ditjen) of Horticulture Ministry of Agriculture, Kedai Sayur, and Cigombong STA Cianjur Regency. Also present were the Head of the Agriculture, Plantation, Food, and Horticulture Office of Cianjur Mamad Nano, the Head of STA who was also Millennial Farmer Sandi Okta, CEO of Kedai Sayur Adrian, and Kedai Sayur Ahmad’s Operational Director Ahmad Supriyadi.

Kedai Sayur is one of many agriculture-based startups. They partnered with farmers in several areas, where their crops were sold online to consumers. While STA Cigombong is the main location for farmers’ harvest in Cianjur Regency. STA Cigombong is also one of the partners of Kedai Sayur.

Director-General of Horticulture, Ministry of Agriculture, Prihasto Setyanto said the MoU was a tangible form of the country’s presence amid the co-19 pandemic situation. This effort is in line with the direction of the Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo.

One important point in the MoU is the readiness of the Ministry of Agriculture to help the distribution of horticultural commodities, such as vegetables. According to Prihasto, the distribution of horticultural commodities from upstream to downstream is very vital because it has an impact on market prices.