Farmdrop was an

online grocer An online grocer is either a brick-and-mortar supermarket or grocery store that allows online ordering, or a standalone e-commerce service that includes grocery items. There is usually a delivery charge for this service. Brick-and-mortar superma ...

with a focus on food sourced from local farmers, fishermen, and other producers. The company provided

farm-to-table Farm-to-table (or farm-to-fork, and in some cases farm-to-school) is a social movement which promotes serving local food at restaurants and school cafeterias, preferably through direct acquisition from the producer (which might be a winery, brewer ...

foods for consumers in

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and surrounding counties, along with ethically-sourced baby & kids, household, pets, and deli products. They informed customers on 17 December 2021 that they had collapsed following a failure to secure additional funding. Ben Pugh, a former stockbroker for

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...

, founded the company in 2012, which was based in

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

. In December 2015, the company had 20 employees, and in April 2016 worked with around 80 food producers. As of April 2018, it was working with 450 producers. Farmdrop had a

mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...

that consumers used to interface with the company.

History

The earliest work in forming Farmdrop began with Pugh meeting local farmers at their farms to acquire prospective producers to work with the company. Various foods including

organic food Organic food, ecological food or biological food are food and drinks produced by methods complying with the standards of organic farming. Standards vary worldwide, but organic farming features practices that cycle resources, promote ecological ...

s could be ordered online and delivered. Farmers and fishermen received a higher percentage of the retail price using Farmdrop because no middlemen were involved in the

supply chain In commerce, a supply chain is a network of facilities that procure raw materials, transform them into intermediate goods and then final products to customers through a distribution system. It refers to the network of organizations, people, acti ...

. In March 2017, the company had around 30,000 active users. The company was formally founded by Pugh in 2012 using around £750,000 in funding from other sources. In 2016, the company received £3 million in funding. In April 2017, the company received another £7 million. In June 2018, the company raised another £10 million. In late 2018, Farmdrop upgraded its brand identity with a new logo and positioning, coinciding with the addition of new product lines such as sourced household goods, wine and drinks, as well as baby & kid's items. It was realized in collaboration with design studio Confederation Studio following co-creation principles. in March 2019, an ad from the company featuring a mix of fresh produce, bacon, eggs and butter, was rejected by TfL (Transport for London, which operates the London Underground) due to its updated regulation on HFSS (high in fat, sugar and salt) foods and how they are advertised in the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

. A debate ensued, with Farmdrop raising questions around the scoring system used to determine what is healthy food. The company declared it fully supported "preventing brands from aggressively advertising

junk food "Junk food" is a term used to describe food that is high in calories from sugar and/or fat, and possibly also sodium, but with little dietary fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals, or other important forms of nutritional value. It is also known as ...

to children". In March/April 2019, Farmdrop launched an initiative to review and reduce plastic packaging in its fresh produce. It shared the findings and results, including using plant-based compostable bags for broccoli, kale, salad and bread. In December 2021, the company collapsed due to the inability to secure sufficient capital to continue operating.

Education campaign

In September 2016, Farmdrop began providing its "Farmology" education campaign, which provided information to consumers about the origins of foods. The Farmology campaign corresponded with the start of the school year in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Notes

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite web , title=Farmdrop to host 'Farmology' educational push on food origins , website=

The Grocer ''The Grocer'' is a British magazine devoted to grocery sales, published by William Reed Business Media. It has been published since 1862. The Grocer 33 A feature of the magazine is 'The Grocer 33'. This is a survey of each of the 5 leading s ...

, date=13 September 2016 , url=http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/channels/farmdrop-to-host-farmology-educational-push-on-food-origins/541894.article , access-date=31 October 2016 {{cite web , last=Brouwer , first=Lotte , title=A man on a mission: How Farmdrop is fixing the food chain , website=Country & Town House Magazine , date=19 October 2015 , url=https://www.countryandtownhouse.co.uk/food-and-drink/a-man-on-a-mission-how-farmdrop-is-fixing-the-food-chain/ , access-date=31 October 2016 {{cite web , last=Cohen , first=Claire , title=Word of mouth: FarmDrop, bringing local food to the masses , website=The Telegraph , date=27 March 2014 , url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/10723895/Word-of-mouth-FarmDrop-bringing-local-food-to-the-masses.html , access-date=31 October 2016 {{cite web , last1=Leal , first1=Natalie , last2=Zee , first2=Bibi van der , title=Off the shelf: are people finally turning away from supermarkets? , website=

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

, date=20 August 2014 , url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/aug/20/off-the-shelf-are-people-finally-turning-away-from-supermarkets , access-date=31 October 2016 {{cite web , last=Burns , first=Michael , title=News , website=Digital Arts , date=5 April 2016 , url=http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/news/graphic-design/jean-jullien-supermundane-famrdrop-badges/ , access-date=31 October 2016 {{cite web , last=Scott , first=Sue , title=Online farm produce company enjoys rapid growth , website=

Farmers Weekly ''Farmers Weekly'' is a magazine aimed at the British farming industry. It provides news; business features; a weekly digest of facts and figures about British, European and world agriculture; and livestock, arable and machinery sections wit ...

, date=17 April 2016 , url=http://www.fwi.co.uk/business/online-farm-produce-company-enjoys-rapid-growth.htm , access-date=31 October 2016 {{cite web , last=Rodionova , first=Zlata , title=Farmdrop: This app could stop shoppers going to supermarkets for groceries , website=The Independent , date=3 March 2017 , url=https://www.independent.co.uk/Business/indyventure/farmdrop-app-supermarket-shoppers-groceries-food-drink-buy-customers-online-a7609686.html , access-date=26 October 2017 {{cite book , last=Carolan , first=M.S. , title=No One Eats Alone: Food as a Social Enterprise , publisher=

Island Press Island Press is a nonprofit, environmental publisher based in Washington, D.C., United States, that specializes in natural history, ecology, conservation, and the built environment. Established in 1984, Island Press generates about half of its r ...

, year=2017 , isbn=978-1-61091-804-6 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9ScgDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA128 , access-date=26 October 2017 , pages=128–132 {{cite news , title=The Great British Box Off: which veg box is best for quality and value? , website=

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

, date=3 March 2017 , url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/features/great-british-box-veg-box-best-quality-value/ , access-date=3 November 2017 Food retailers of the United Kingdom Online grocers Companies based in the London Borough of Islington Retail companies established in 2012 2012 establishments in the United Kingdom Online retailers of the United Kingdom

History

Education campaign

See also

Notes

References