New HCMC supermarket chain offers grocery combos at ‘steady’ prices

The Foodshare Market sells a variety of grocery combos including mixed vegetables for VND20,000-30,000 ($0.87-1.31) per kg; eggs at VND 30,000 per pack of 10 and pork at VND120,000 per kg.

It opened its first offline outlet in Binh Thanh District, HCMC last Saturday. Nguyen Tuan Khoi, founder of Food Bank Vietnam and head of operations at Foodshare Market, said the focus is on selling grocery combos that can last three, five and seven days respectively.

He said the combos are sold at steady, lowest possible prices while ensuring equal benefits for everyone involved in the supply chain including farmers, producers, transporters and customers.

Each combo has a collection of basic grocery items like rice, vegetables, eggs, fish, meat, fruits and processed food. Apart from selling groceries at a steady price, Foodshare Market also provides free food combos for the needy with the help contributions made by benefactors including individuals and organizations, he added.

Khoi also said 23 small and medium scale providers have offered to provide Foodshare Market with groceries at the best possible price. The supermarket is also establishing links with more partners to procure agricultural produce and seafood from farming and fishing areas that are having output problems.

"In fact, this model is not new in other countries where there are low-priced supermarkets that fight food waste. A lot of low-income people have difficulty accessing food sources while producers and farms may have trouble selling their produce, leading to (cumbersome) inventory", Khoi said.

After launching the first on-site supermarket, the company has requested approval to open more branches. "We are preparing to open 10 major, professionally operated Foodshare Market sites as soon as possible. They will continue even after the pandemic is over."

Nguyen Ngoc Dat, CEO of Di Dong Viet and member of the management board, said they were also encouraging customers in quarantined areas to place bulk orders of 10, 20 or 50 kg of vegetables and divide this evenly when the orders are delivered at checkpoints.

HCMC has been promoting mobile grocery distribution points to reduce the pressure on supermarkets and convenience stores after three of its wholesale markets and many traditional wet markets closed down amid the pandemic.

Several chain stores specializing in other products have temporarily switched to distributing fresh food in order to help out.

The city, home to 13 million people, is suffering the worst Covid-19 community outbreak ever. It is now the most infected locality with nearly 56,000 local cases recorded so far in the ongoing wave that hit Vietnam on April 27.