Farmdrop is an online grocer with a focus on food sourced from local farmers, fishermen and other producers. The company now provides farm-to-table foods and fresh fish for consumers in the London area, along with ethically-sourced baby & kids, household and deli products. Ben Pugh, a former stockbroker for Morgan Stanley, founded the company in 2012, which is based in London, England. 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 has a mobile app that consumers use to interface with the company.
History
The earliest work in forming Farmdrop began with Pugh meeting with local farmers at their farms to acquire prospective producers to work with the company. Various foods including organic foods can be ordered online and delivered. Farmers and fishermen receive a higher percentage of the retail price using Farmdrop because no middlemen are involved in the supply chain. 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 ethically-sourced household goods, wine and drinks, as well as baby & kids 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 due to its updated regulation on HFSS foods and how they are advertised in the London Underground. 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 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 even bread.
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.
