Rooted brings the farmer’s market to your doorstep with their produce delivery service. Nicole Nasson speaks to the men behind this student-run business.
The fear of Covid-19 contamination, as well as national lockdown regulations, have turned shopping into a daunting experience.
Christian Malan and Neil De Kock, two students from Stellenbosch University, have realised that their business, Rooted, could help alleviate this stress.
Founded at the beginning of the year, Rooted is a home delivery food business based in Stellenbosch.
Christian Malan (left) and Neil de Kock (right) at a Rooted supplier’s farm. PHOTO: Lianri Malan
Locking down and rising sales
The national lockdown has taken a toll on everyone, especially on small businesses. Based in Stellenbosch, a town with a large student population, a lot of Rooted’s customers are students. Once lockdown regulations were put in place, sales took a dip as students returned home.
“Half our customers were students, which immediately fell away and cut our sales in half,” De Kock says.
However, Rooted’s business model has managed to attract a different customer base. Household orders have increased due to lockdown precautions and social distancing practices, the Rooted founders say.
“People want to play it safe at the moment, and how much safer can you be than something that was harvested on the very same day, handled once, and delivered right to your doorstep?” Malan says.
Business is going so well, that Rooted has been able to grow its team. It has since hired a new driver.
Rooted delivers fresh produce weekly to your door in wooden sanitised boxes. PHOTO: Lianri Malan
Simplified safe shopping
The idea for Rooted came from Malan’s experience as a child growing up on a dairy farm in Mpumalanga. “My inspiration came directly from home – wanting to create a better platform for farmers to sell their labour, set their own prices, and gain a positive reputation with the public,” says Malan.
Choosing from a variety of fresh vegetables, herbs, dairy products and eggs, customers can place orders online instead of going to a store, limiting physical human contact. Based on the confirmed orders, produce is harvested at Stellenbosch-based farms at dawn on a Monday. It is then delivered later on the Monday at dusk, in sanitised wooden boxes.
While their business model wasn’t intentionally made for pandemic conditions, coincidently, Rooted’s harvest and delivery system is already quarantine-friendly. But now with lockdown protocols to consider, suppliers and Rooted staff wear protective gear during the entire process, from packaging and collection to delivery.
“Having been serious about food safety and cleanliness from the start, the main changes that had to be implemented are behavioural changes when coming into contact with other humans,” Malan says.
A farming foreman picking vegetables on harvest day. PHOTO: Neil De Kock
The return of the milkman
Malan wanted to reintroduce the consumer to the farmer with Rooted’s business model, saying that farmers receive too little credit and recognition for all their hard work. “This is one of the driving factors for us: the empowerment of all our stakeholders,” he says.
“The current climate for small to medium farmers is extremely challenging. The huge complex supply chains owned by massive corporations are often [farmers’] only option,” Malan continues.
According to De Kock, they want shoppers to be able to put a face to the people behind the produce. “When building a Rooted box and selecting your fresh produce, you specifically choose from which farmer you want to buy. Carrots can, for example, be bought either from Farmer Andre or from Farmer Brandon. This is important, as we want you to know your farmer and where your food is coming from,” De Kock says.
On a monthly basis, Rooted dedicates a post to one of their suppliers on Facebook and Instagram. “ ‘Farmer of the month’ is therefore a way to introduce customers to a local farmer that grows fantastic produce. We hope that this personal connection will increase the amount of orders that that farmer then receives,” De Kock explains.
Mary Anderson, a vegetable and herb farmer and owner of Veg Stix, was Farmer of the Month for April. “I don’t think the public in general realises how much hard work goes into producing a single product,” Anderson says.
Mary Anderson, the owner of Veg Stix, is a Rooted supplier and their farmer of the month. PHOTO: Neil De Kock
Thanks to social-distancing practices, Rooted had firmly planted its roots in Stellenbosch and hope to grow steadily over the year before possible expansion.