Talk to your users. What is your opinion on an Online Farmers Market?

Question

I am working on an online market where people can buy locally grown/sourced fruits, vegetables, eggs, meats, etc., from local farmers. In addition, they can also buy small batch foods from artisanal food makers- breads, cheeses, jams, etc. The goal is to create access and make it convenient for people to order from their local farmers/food crafters, while at the same time allowing these small businesses to expand their online customer base.In the back-end we are working on optimizing delivery routes and inventory management.We have conducted about 300 orders and spoke with customers and non-customers which we consider our end-user, or households. Some of the feedback we have gotten has been insightful. Among some concerns from non-customers is: not being able to touch/see/feel the produce in person.We would love to know the HN community's feedback on:What would make you (or woudln't make you) try something like this? What are some concerns you may have? Pros and cons? Any advice for tech infrastructure, or community adoption?Thanks in advance!

JohnFen · Accepted Answer

Although I buy very nearly all my produce at a farmer's market, I don't think that I'd use something like this.
> Among some concerns from non-customers is: not being able to touch/see/feel the produce in person.
This is the primary reason why. Another reason is that I buy produce basically on an as-needed basis, so ordering and waiting for delivery wouldn't really work well for me. All that said, in my area the farmers already have pretty good internet presences. Introducing a third party into the whole exchange seems like it would just add additional overhead and distance without bringing much in the way of real value.
Maybe, if I lived somewhere where it was more difficult to go to a farmer's market, this would be something of interest to me, though.

noir_lord · Answer

How are you ensuring that the goods sold are actually local farmer products?That&rsquo;d be my first thought as a customer.Given we currently have a rumbling &ldquo;honey&rdquo; scandal in the UK.

Bender · Answer

Just me personally, I would only go as far as to mention in a local community forum there is a farmers market on {n} dates. I would expect people to want to visually inspect the produce at least the people I know in this neighborhood. Some people go to farmers market to socialize. For people that don't care to inspect the produce they just put in an order with the local grocery store to have food delivered.

mikequinlan · Answer

[delayed]