Local Food & More Gains Popularity for Being the First Real Alternative to the Major Retailers With the Launch of Their Disruptive and Scalable - Free Hyper-Local Delivery Model

NOTTINGHAM, England, April 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Local Food & More, an agile and disruptive food and grocery delivery start-up, today announced the launch of their new service in Newark and Loughborough.

The business is helping local economies in this pandemic by supporting small local producers and employing local people in fulfilling the order, and generating much needed revenue in the local communities. Despite expensive ad campaigns and fine words from the big supermarkets, most ordinary people (63%) now find it near impossible to get a food delivery.

With Local Food & More, one can book a delivery slot in days, not weeks, offering an affordable alternative (about £7 per person per day) that will get consumers and the vulnerable fresh local produce fast.

78% of customers stated that it is important that the nation starts buying and supporting local businesses, keeping local employment and money in the local economy. Local Food & More offers a hybrid box of seasonal produce and locally produced pantry items created by local chefs to feed singles, couples or families, though their micro production hubs. The idea came about when the brothers and their business partners found their food businesses closed and with not much support or hope on the horizon, they came up and launched the first iteration of the business in just 8 days.

Local Food & More sell boxes for £7 per person per day, with all the ingredients to make 3 tasty main meals. There is a Family and a Small option, each box lasts 3- 4 days and includes a selection of fresh food and a week's worth of pantry items. There are recipe cards in each box and customers have access to the chefs on the website for inspiration and recipes or they can chat online to their nutritionist and chefs and answer any customer questions via Facebook or live chat each day. Once a week, they host a live stream Cook A Long show.

The team developed a solution with simple and intuitive technology with consumers at the heart, which has enabled them to create a really simple model that ensures consumers safety; with allergen and dietary questions as part of the buying journey. The soon-to-be released app will enable customers to buy for family members and will let one know when it has been delivered and ensure the service is accessible to as many people as possible. They have deployed VIOP internet free calls, whatsapp and social media buying and customers services, all this under pinned with clever food production and fleet management app which is found on the internet.

Vulnerable people, people in isolation, people without a good internet connection or people who just don't want to go to the shops, but want to support local businesses, can all be a part of the Local Food & More family.

Local Food & More came about when British entrepreneur Greg Wixted helped his younger brothers set up and launch the business in the Northern Territory, Australia. After the major supermarkets, and meal delivery companies, closed their online operations in Australia, Greg and his brothers stepped in with Local Food & More to feed the local community and keep the local economy alive during the pandemic. After the first week, they sold over 1000 food boxes, and the number has been doubling each week.

Joining forces with Greg in this country are Caroline Jackson, a Nottingham-based entrepreneur and restaurateur, and Karl Tyler who runs the Dapper Spaniel Pub in Rolleston, Nottinghamshire.  Greg, Caroline and Karl all saw the huge social and business impact the pandemic has made in their local community from key workers to the elderly, local businesses, to farmers and villages, and decided to act.

Greg Wixted stated, "The supermarket business will be worth £178BN by 2024, if everyone stopped buying from them one week that would be £3.42BN back in the pockets of local people. People's biggest concern when buying local is price, but it's achievable though the use of smart technology, the use of small agile micro hubs, with lots of suppliers feeding into create the scale you need to compete, a secure supply chain and we are so local and only a heartbeat away from our customers, we will always be able to offer free delivery. I have seen the impact it's made in Australia, saving businesses because we could give them an order for 300 to 400 products a week, we are saving small businesses every week, the way its helped in these very challenging times, one thing is for sure on the other side this the winners won't be the supermarkets. "It will be all those local businesses we all feel in love with in the first place, who like us will never put profits and shareholders before people and purpose," he added. 

The idea is being supported by suppliers, over 40 offered their products including growers, many who were ready to not even harvest their crop. One such business is Atherley's, a family owned bakery in Farnsfield, Nottinghamshire, who have been in business since 1936. James Atherley, third generation family owner and head baker stated, "Serving our local community has always been at the forefront of our family business. By collaborating with Local Food & More, we are able to cater for the vulnerable in our local area as well as keep the business afloat and it's saved us from have to let our team go and will secure our place in the community for future years." This is echoed by Kate Bull, retail expert, governmental advisor and founder of The People Supermarket, the project was the subject or the awards winning TV documentary  'This is customer first retail innovation. With customers shaping the business maybe they will finally get a retailer they love.'

For more information about the offering please visit www.localfoodandmore.org