The current fresh produce sales model is monopolized by large companies. Many small farms have limited sales channels and are suffering from economic deficiencies. According to USDA, farms with direct-to-consumer (DTC) type of sales channel have a much greater chance of surviving than farms that practice traditional methods. However, now there is a lack of online platforms for selling local fruits and vegetables. Before the pandemic, people have always tended to buy in the farmer’s market, but the impact scale is microscopic. Moreover, after the pandemic, everyone is scared to shop at traditional markets where people usually gathered. To help farmers escape the current dilemma, I created a service that assists local farms and small family businesses in selling their products through live streams and virtual shopping.
The project, Enliven, is composed of an app and a branding package. Enliven helps not only farmers but also consumers to get fresh groceries from local farms near their house and be able to communicate with the real people who are growing them. With the live streaming technology, the consumer will know every detail of their food while purchasing them, which brings transparency to the once opaque process. By introducing the service, I also want to create communities that connect the local producers and customers. I hope that people will choose to buy less processed and packaged food sent from thousands of miles away and instead pay more attention to local farmers just within reach.