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A veteran of the produce industry for more than two decades, Brian Foster saw a need to bridge the gap between buyers and sellers to move products from those who have it, to those who need it, faster and more efficiently.
That was the genesis of Produce Live, which was created to serve as a real-time bridge between these worlds to accomplish just that.
Produce Live trading app
“The idea is that, from anywhere, a registered user can use Produce Live via the website, mobile web or App, to create a post about a commodity they have to sell or one they are in need of, and that post is published instantly for other users to see,” said Foster, who serves as CEO of the company. “Using notification preferences that can be set to the users’ business needs, users can receive instant notifications when a post they are interested in has been published. This allows buyers and sellers to connect instantly to finalize the sale transaction through their existing business model to move produce faster.”
For example, if there’s a shortage on strawberries due to unexpected weather, Produce Live can be utilized so those who need strawberries can post their need for growers/wholesalers/sellers to respond with what they have.
And in this age of the pandemic, Produce Live takes on even more significance.
Produce Live trading app
“Farmers and growers that historically supply restaurants, need somewhere to sell their commodities during COVID-19,” Foster said. “Produce Live is a place where they can post what they have to a potential new market and generate new opportunities for their future business.”
Produce Live offers organic growers a marketing tool to advertise what products they have to new and existing customers in order to grow their business. Posts result in real-time notifications to those who have flagged that commodity as an item of interest. Users can then contact organic growers directly through the website/mobile web/App to initiate a sale transaction.
“Produce Live has built organic categories into every produce category on the online trading platform so that when a user in the organic space creates their post, they can easily place the post specifically in the organic category for each of filtering by potential customers,” Foster said. “Additionally, organic-focused users can set notification preferences specific for any and all organic commodities.”
Produce Live trading app
Thanks to this savvy business model, the barriers for organics to become mainstream are lessened as growers are more visible to the marketplace. Produce Live offers the ability for organics to be placed directly in comparison to non-organic offerings and offer the consumer the ability to compare without the need to contact to contact multiple resources to find the comparison between the offerings.
“Produce Live allows for direct targeting marketing on all commodities with the filter system that allows a user to search for specifically for organics on the site,” Foster said. “This allows the users the ability to receive all of the organic offerings, or the ability to narrow their search down to as small as the would like. Users also can filter to location to find only local growers in their area to serve their consumer base with that product as well.”
The goal of Produce Live for 2020 is to get the online trading platform in the hands of as many produce suppliers and consumers as possible in order to help move produce faster and more efficiently from those who have it, to those who need it.
“We are going to target suppliers and growers that are needing new ways to market with all the changes we currently are facing due to the global pandemic,” Foster said. “We also would like to reach out to food banks, and those in need and encourage them to use the site for a place where their needs are able to be met by those who have product to help donate if they can.”
