How Covid-19 tested and proved this new online organic shop concept
In these uncertain times, locked down, stressed or stressful, the way we shop and consume is being shaken up. We want to boost our immune systems, avoid trips to the shops, buy more locally. And in France, in Belgium and further afield, our local online shops are adding home delivery. They are managing to outdo the big supermarket chains on service and convenience, and it is a wonder to watch. So we went to meet Kazidomi, the online grocer. Thomas Huberland, logistics manager, and Amandine Deffrennes, head of partnerships, answered our questions.
How did Kazidomi start?
The Kazidomi story began a few years ago with its founder, Emna Evrard. Her father is a nutritionist, so she grew up paying attention to products, to labels and to what is in them. Her dream was always to open a shop where you could find healthy food easily, almost with your eyes closed. Out of that, and out of her final-year thesis, came the Kazidomi concept: an online grocer, an extension of the organic shop.
What sets Kazidomi apart from the other online players?
Customers can take out an annual membership (€60 a year instead of €80 with the code HELLOSUMMER) that gives them preferential prices, with discounts of up to 50% across the whole site. Dietary, healthy and organic products come at unbeatable prices, within everyone’s reach.
Who are Kazidomi’s most devoted customers?
Athletes, families who buy organic, fit girls, an informed audience that wants healthy products, the kind you will not necessarily find in the organic aisle of most supermarkets. Kazidomi gathers on a single platform all the products that would otherwise take an afternoon of shopping! And a good deal more ;)
Kazidomi is also the Kazifamily: we go further than online groceries, with recipes on the blog, advice, and a constant search for innovative products for our followers. You will not find vegetables or fresh produce here, but you will find hundreds of ideas!
Health is the cause Kazidomi fights for.
And Kazidomi in the context of Covid-19?
New customers flooded in, either because they wanted home delivery or because their usual shops had run out of stock. The curious could order without joining, which let many of them discover Kazidomi and subscribe afterwards, becoming regulars. We saw people rethinking the way they live and consume during Covid-19. Eating well was very much on the agenda.
How does Kazidomi see itself among the other players, and in the years ahead?
We sell food supplements as well as innovative food products. We communicate to help our customers look after their health: everyone is short of magnesium, so we can flag that and explain the various solutions, without pushing supplements 365 days a year. Looking after your health can be fun and innovative! Kazidomi was conceived as an agent of change for health.
We already serve France, Belgium, Switzerland and the French overseas territories, and we are expanding, more like a movement without borders.
Emna Evrard is revolutionising the world of online grocery with Kazidomi.
How did you keep Kazidomi running through that flood of orders?
It was intense, but it mattered to everyone on our teams. The determination to satisfy the customer whatever it took was very strong at Kazidomi. The size of the company counts for a great deal in keeping operations and customer service at their best: everyone gave 200% and was on deck for two months non-stop.
In a small company, staff are all the more involved because they can see what is at stake and the direct impact of their own commitment. And customers felt that dedication, and applauded it!
Kazidomi is a customer of Shippr. What really changed when you moved to Shippr?
You have to picture that before April 2020 every parcel went by the classic postal route. At each sorting centre it is as if the parcels were dropped from two metres up. When you ship pairs of shoes that matters less than when you ship glass bottles, and it is not something you can change. So every parcel was packed for it, which pushed handling and packaging, and therefore the cost per parcel and per order, right up.
If a parcel goes through one sorting centre, or even two or three depending on the destination, and then a driver takes it to its final destination, it takes time, the risk of breakage rises and tracking gets complicated. So we turned to Shippr for something faster, greener and clearer for our customers:
- Faster: same-day delivery, offered even to customers who order at 10 in the morning and are delivered that same evening. (So goodbye to lost parcels and endless delivery times in the middle of Covid-19!)
- Greener: a single journey from the Kazidomi warehouse to the end customer. No more trip to the sorting centre, no more separate run to deliver the parcel to the door, and no more packaging piled on to limit the risk of breakage! With Shippr the process is short and efficient. Another advantage in the depths of the Covid-19 crisis: postal services had enormous delays, while Shippr handles same-day delivery.
- Clearer for the customer: Shippr offers real-time tracking of the drivers, plus notifications telling customers their parcel is about to arrive.
What can you optimise with Shippr?
In a few months with Shippr we have already made several improvements, above all in how we communicate with customers. Two months ago, most recipients were at home when the delivery arrived. They no longer are, so we have to handle customers being either at the office or at home, since the slot runs from 4pm to 8pm. The customer can then pick the delivery option they prefer.
Being able to have deliveries seven days a week is new for the customer. Order on Friday morning and the order can arrive on Friday evening, rather than only on Monday or Tuesday.
For the Kazidomi service, same-day delivery is a real plus that we can offer!
How are you still tackling the packaging problem? Same-day delivery means you can do without it, but what about the other parcels?
With Shippr we have cut packaging costs to the minimum for regional distribution. For the rest of the parcels it is daily work: how can we pack better? Packaging pollutes, it is only used for the length of the journey, and the customer fills their bin with cardboard the moment the parcel arrives, which is not satisfying either.
So we are developing different packaging systems: dividers for bottles, for instance, or small crates. We are investing and constantly looking to be more efficient and more economical, because that also means greener.
What about the producers?
Many products have been developed to look superb on a supermarket shelf and are not suited to delivery at all. Few are designed with those constraints in mind. We are in permanent contact with the manufacturers. If certain glass containers break because they are thinner than others, or if the caps on washing-up products pop off because they are more fragile, we tell them. We also decide not to sell some products because they are not suited to delivery, and then we look for substitutes.
What has Covid-19 redrawn in your supply chain?
In the warehouse there were no big changes, because our own-brand Kazidomi products give us very good control of the supply chain. We never went above 6% out of stock during the first wave of covid-19, while some of our competitors were at around 50%, mostly on food.
On the supply side, products coming from Asia were hit, since everything had stopped there. That pushed us to think about local alternatives, so as to be more resilient.
And in transport, the crisis showed us who could take on volume, adapt, and own up to any mistakes rather than bury their head in the sand. We redrew our partnerships with the carriers in each country.
A second wave of covid-19… What would you do differently?
Communication. During a crisis there is a real opportunity to educate people about our deepest values, for example how to boost your immune system. People are at home, many of them spending more time on social media and on the website, so it is the chance to get the message across.
Our teams are better prepared too: trained colleagues can step in to reinforce the after-sales team or others.
What will you remember about spring 2020?
We had set ourselves the goal of doubling Kazidomi volumes in six months; we doubled them in a weekend. We fell behind, and we caught up in two days.
If there is a second wave, or other crises, we are confident, because that very strong Covid-19 growth proved Kazidomi works.
The crisis put ways of working in the warehouse and in logistics under pressure, and sped up the simplification of some processes. More than a hundred students came to help us, and thanks to them the backlog was cleared. We know how to adapt, and we have more resilience to grow or adjust nimbly as demand moves.
The best months in Kazidomi’s history, we did them working from home, except in the warehouse.
We will leave you to discover their superb range and their blog, packed with good recipes and advice!
A huge thank you to Thomas and Amandine for sharing the Kazidomi experience!
