Australia Post to offer fresh food deliveries
Australia Post is getting ready to compete head-to-head with other online grocery shopping and delivery services.
Yesterday, Australian Food News reported that a rival, ParcelPoint, was opening a new delivery network through independent convenience stores. Australia Post contacted Australian Food News in response to yesterday’s story and told us about Farmhouse Direct.
Farmhouse Direct, a new online shopping and delivery service from Australia Post will be officially launched in late 2012. Australia Post says it has attracted interest from numerous potential product buyers and producers.
Australia Post believes Farmhouse Direct will benefit producers by shortening their supply chains, and placing them in reach of a wider market.
The online delivery system intends to let consumers purchase products at any time, and have them delivered to their home.
The Farmhouse Direct website will list the products of participating sellers, enabling consumers to buy directly from producers.
The focus of Farmhouse Direct will be on “hard-to-find specialty products” and will create opportunities to contact producers directly. These features are seen as points of difference between Farmhouse Direct and an existing network called Aussie Farmers Direct.
Since 2005, the Aussie Farmers Direct has operated successfully as an independently owned Australian home delivery franchise, which takes orders from consumers as the middle-man rather than directing them straight to the producers. However, new rivals such as Australia Post’s Farmhouse Direct are intending to adopt the concept and extend it by the the use of new technologies.
A sneak preview of Australian Post’s Farmhouse Direct site is available here.
