The Farmily business model is based on the values we espouse and a commitment to deliver freshness, affordability, convenience, sustainability and community. This exquisite melange of five values and commitments ingrained in our business model is not only what makes us unique; it is also what will make us successful in the long run.
Unlike supermarkets and online grocers, at Farmily we buy our produce the same day and return the unsold inventory to the wholesale market. Sourcing is key to our success. We take good care to source our produce from good quality, reliable farms and wholesalers. But once we obtain the produce and assure that it is of good quality, we do not process it, nor do we pack, change, enhance or even wash the fruits and vegetables we sell. We strongly believe fruits and vegetables should enter the home of the consumer in their most natural, unaltered form.
Buying produce off a converted farm vehicle may not be such a new idea, but getting the farm vehicle come to your street, right outside your home, in the heart of Dubai, every single day at the appointed time, dispensing the freshest produce at a good price, is a pretty darn novel concept. Fresh food enthusiasts will no longer have to take the tedious trip to the supermarket or set out to order online groceries which never arrive in the condition in which they are advertised on their fancy websites. Parents and children will only have to look out of their kitchen window, take the fresh produce basket out to the Farmily bus and return with their daily supply of fresh produce. No more buying extra! No more leftover produce wilting on the counter! No more fruit flies infesting the kitchen!
Our Farmily business concept may appear old fashioned – and in a way it is so – but most of our ideas behind the concept are quite progressive, particularly when it comes to how we look at our impact on the environment. It is a core objective of the Family approach to contribute to lowering of carbon emission by reducing the number of car traffic going to supermarkets or delivery trucks or motorbikes transporting individual orders. We have a policy of not using plastic bags, nor will we use any other non- biodegradable material in our day to day business operations.
What’s more, in the second phase of Farmily operation, we will replace all our buses and vehicles with a new fleet of electric vehicles to ensure that we leave the smallest possible footprint behind. We also plan to invest in the development of hydroponic farming which, apart from contributing to the UAE’s national goal of enhancing food security, will also help alleviate the effects of climate change.
At Farmily we genuinely believe good quality, fresh produce do not have to come at prohibitive prices. Our ‘Back to Basic’ business formula is basically a nostalgic throwback to a time when buying good food was easier, and perhaps cheaper too. It means that it is possible to take the freshest of produce to customers right outside their homes, every day of the week, and all this for a reasonable price that is often lower than the supermarket. The secret? Well, better not give away too much, but suffice to say clever sourcing of produce and keeping overheads low do help.
Above all, at the core of the Farmily promise lies a commitment to authenticity. We believe supermarkets and online delivery services may have made food fancier, but they have not altered the desire for freshness and the physical touch that comes so natural to us as humans when dealing with food. A great surviving tradition in many cities around the world today is the Farmers’ Market, where people come together, drawn not only by the attraction of food in its fresh, natural and unprocessed form, but also by the experience of coming together as a community.
Indeed, while supermarkets and online delivery services can cater very well for the everyday life of busy citizens, they miss the connecting power of food completely. Food is more than a consumer good; food is about our connection to nature and our connection with each other.
