Media release of 10 January 2024
Leading Swiss eFood company Farmy looks back on a challenging but well-managed 2023. With an adjusted offer and delivery model, the company deliberately took a 23 % decline in sales to CHF 24 million compared to the previous year into account. But with growth of 150 % compared to the pre-coronavirus year 2019 and a higher average shopping basket of CHF 155, it is well positioned for healthy growth and profitability in the coming years and has reached operating break-even.
Source: Farmy
A one-stop destination for the entire weekly grocery shop
Farmy is known as the Swiss marketplace for local and sustainable products from farmers and producers. In fact, products from small and medium-sized Swiss farmers and producers accounted for 94 % of sales in 2023. Furthermore, freshness takes centre stage: fresh produce makes up 69 % of sales. This includes numerous fruits and vegetables, fresh bread and pastries from ten regional bakeries and confectioners, the widest selection of cheese and dairy products from Swiss farmers, meat from eleven butchers, fresh fish and seafood like at a Mediterranean fish market as well as flowers. Around 59 % of the products sold are certified organic, while 8 out of 10 customer orders contain organic products, which also sets Farmy apart from other online retailers.
Since 2023, a selected brand range may now also be discovered, which Farmy presented in a campaign under the motto “For freshness. And everything else.”. The aim of the campaign was to show that it is now possible to do all one’s weekly shopping at Farmy, in an entirely uncomplicated and transparent way. The expansion was undertaken by Farmy in order to cater even better to all of its customers’ needs.
Source: Farmy
Focus on customers with larger shopping baskets
The company’s main focus in 2023 was profitability and the corresponding adjustment of the business model. For instance, the delivery conditions were adjusted at the beginning of last year in favour of larger shopping baskets, as the delivery of smaller orders while maintaining the cold chain did not make sense from an ecological or economic perspective. This led to an increase in the average shopping basket from CHF 127 to CHF 155. The company is therefore striving to focus more on customers who do the majority of their weekly shopping at Farmy. Customers with smaller shopping baskets are no longer being served as a result, which was one of the reasons for a drop in sales in 2023.
Like so many other companies in the high-quality food segment, Farmy also had to fight for customer favour in 2023 due to the macroeconomic crisis. This, a prolonged search for capital – and the associated limited marketing resources for acquiring new customers – as well as the adjusted delivery conditions led to a decline in turnover that year. Although revenue thus amounted to CHF 24 million in 2023 (compared to CHF 31 million in the previous year), growth of 150 % was achieved compared to the pre-coronavirus year 2019, meaning that operating break-even was achieved after two coronavirus peak years and operating profitability improved by 60 % compared to 2022. Furthermore, fixed costs were reduced by 25 % and the efficiency of packaging and delivery was increased by 2 % of sales.
Trust in Farmy remains strong
Meanwhile, Farmy Solutions has continued to serve Alnatura in Germany and has already digitised the Alnatura stores in Berlin and Frankfurt. The collaboration with Alnatura is an important step for Farmy to strengthen its presence in the German market and further expand its business with the sale of the software.
Farmy also completed a successful financing round of CHF 10.5 million in June 2023 despite the mood of crisis. “We were able to attract new investors,” says co-CEO and co-founder Tobias Schubert. “That said, 90 % of the total investment was provided by existing investors, which demonstrates their existing trust in Farmy’s core strengths: transparency, sustainability as well as close relationships with regional Swiss farmers and small and medium-sized enterprises.” With the financing, Farmy has pushed ahead with its planned measures on the road to profitability and launched new initiatives.
Outlook for 2024: an even stronger focus on customer needs
The company has clear goals for 2024, when Farmy celebrates its 10th anniversary. Overall, the company wants to integrate itself even more strongly into the everyday lives of existing customers and inspire new customers to shop weekly via Farmy. In this respect, the offer of deliveries from as little as CHF 79 remains a clear advantage, as it is the only such offer on the Swiss online grocery market.
As early as January, the company plans to offer narrower delivery windows of 1 hour (compared to the current width of 4-8 hours) in core areas for a small flat rate. More attractive delivery conditions are also to be worked out and delivery areas expanded in order to offer customers even more flexibility, speed and benefits. With regard to better addressing price-conscious customers, Farmy plans to expand the range of inexpensive products in all categories, but also to place an even stronger focus on independent farms and producers.
In addition, the app and website are to be gradually revised. “We want to improve the shopping experience for customers,” co-CEO and co-founder Roman Hartmann explains. “The search function was already relaunched with new technology in the last quarter.” The company plans to make further improvements to make the platform even more user-friendly.
With these measures and a clear focus on the needs of its customers, Farmy is well positioned to remain successful in the future.
About Farmy
Farmy is the online market that really has everything and offers fresh and authentic food with transparent origins. The B Corp, certified with an above-average score of 103.6 points, convinces with its distinctive DNA of transparency, sustainability and regionality. Farmy thus represents 1,200 farmers and producers from Switzerland – with a clear focus on fresh products, which account for over 60 % of sales. The offer ranges from fruits and vegetables to Swiss cheese and dairy products, butcher-quality meat, fish, crispy delicacies and sweet temptations such as bread and pralines to drugstore items, flowers and wine. In addition to fresh farm shop products and a share of over 50 % of organic goods, Farmy now offers a selected range of brands to make the complete weekly shopping trip uncomplicated and transparent, all in one place.
Press contact
Roman Hartmann (co-CEO and co-founder)
Mobile: +41 76 215 27 62
Email: roman@farmy.ch
The media release in all language versions as well as pictures is available for download here.
