Why We Introduced A Local Food Section

Over the weekend, we launched our brand new food section, and were also featured on Business Times alongside  our local food makers. So why food, and why now? Our founder, Dennis, shares his thoughts on why Naiise is supporting local food makers, and how we are constantly working to create a platform that helps more people discover products that add value to everyday living.

Holstee Food Rules Poster, $47

Why set up a food section?

We have local food makers who are great at what they do. They too, like the designers we have, create products that add value to better people’s lives. So we decided to push the launch of a food section to offer users a wider variety of things to shop at Naiise, while helping local food makers gain greater reach and awareness for their products.

Why now? 

We have always wanted to have a food section as we believe food can be design in nature as well, from the way it is sourced, made, and packaged. In the beginning though, Naiise was a one-man show so resources were strapped. Now, with more people on the team, we can finally launch our food section. The timing also coincides with a fresh emergence of young, local food makers over the last 4-6 months, whom we have met personally and believe strongly in what they are trying to do.

What kind of products will you be selecting to showcase in your food section?

Our philosophy on selecting items will always fall back to identifying if the product is unique and can value-add to everyday living. We are also very strong supporters of our local community of makers and designers, so we will focus on that right now. 

How do you think this will help small-scale local producers?

Naiise was designed as a platform that brings together consumers, designers and makers, and products that better people's lives in a single destination. For small-scale  producers that operate with limited resources, having an online platform like ours to retail on will save them a lot of time as compared to having to market the brand by themselves. Having their products listed alongside other local food makers is also an easy way to reach out to people who are seeking these products out. In addition, we handle customer fulfilment which further reduces the time food producers need to spend delivering individual orders. All of this enables them to spend more time on their food production.

Do you think the ‘industry’ of local food producers is set to grow?

We do think the local food producer industry is set to grow, similar to the local designers and makers industry, as more emphasis is being placed on supporting the local industry. These days, we see an increasing number of events showcasing and helping local makers garner greater awareness. In addition, we think consumers too are looking for cool and niche things that enable them to play a role in supporting their own community. How much the industry can take off will depend on how much support they can garner from our own local economy. Our current local makers will have to be sustainable in order to help others venture into this industry and help it grow even further.

Note: Special thanks to Debbie from the Business Times for helping us formulate our thoughts in this interview!