About D’Market Movers Ltd

Company status: Limited Company

Year of registration: 2009

Number of employees: 14 employees (for all four companies, see below)

Business sector:

• Online delivery and Click & Collect service of fresh produce (fruit, vegetables, meats, dairy, seafood, grocery items)
• Ideation and design (including brand identity)
• Packaging
• Website development and e-commerce

Rachel RENIE, Co-founder and Managing Director

Rachel worked in the banking sector with partner in business and life David Thomas before becoming Managing Director of D’Market Movers in 2009 and Managing Director of Farm & Function Ltd in 2018. She created and designed D’Market Movers’ first website and e-commerce platform.

Rachel holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Affairs from the City College of The City University of New York, USA. In 2021, she also took part in the Scalerator® programme, designed for entrepreneurs aiming to scale up their companies and achieve healthy, sustainable growth.

In addition to her positions as Managing Director, Rachel is a mentor at Youth Business Trinidad and Tobago (YBTT), which helps support the development of budding entrepreneurs throughout Trinidad and Tobago. She assists them to improve their branding and packaging to meet global industry standards. Rachel also works with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) on the development of the Caribbean Food Safety Information Portal, an online tool to enhance the food safety capacity of micro- and small enterprises in some Caribbean countries.

David THOMAS, Co-founder

A former banker, David is an entrepreneur and farmer, and is passionate about agriculture and local food. He is also committed to mentoring young people, and is involved in the Agriculture Demonstration of Practices and Technologies (ADOPT) project of the University of the West Indies, Jamaica, which focuses on developing innovative technologies to address agricultural challenges within food systems.

In 2016, Rachel and David received the Ernst & Young “Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year” award from the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

Mission & vision:

D’Market Movers aims to promote local farmers and food producers, as well as to raise awareness about consumers’ roles in influencing food consumption and supporting local productions.

The company focuses on farm-to-table initiatives that secure the freshest local products, and brings them directly to its customers.

Context

Background:

Back in 2004, founders Rachel and David worked together in a bank, and started to pair and sell fresh fish and seasonings to their colleagues. Both passionate about agriculture and food, they developed a business idea to link farmers with customers and to offer local, fresh and healthy food in a convenient way. They decided to invest in the untapped market of online shopping for local food, and created D’Market Movers in 2009.

Because the business relies on technology which was initially not available for most of the local population in Trinidad and Tobago, D’Market Movers first supplied only customers within Rachel’s and David’s networks. It boomed with the development of smartphones, personal credit cards and other payment options.

Position in the market:

D’Market Movers is the first online shop delivering fresh products in Trinidad and Tobago.

Relationships:

D’Market Movers works closely with a network of 250 farmers and artisans who supply local fresh products. The company sources fruit and vegetables from greenhouse farmers who use no pesticides, or less than conventional farmers.

D’Market Movers advises its suppliers about trends in consumption and customers’ expectations, identified through its online sales platform. This enables the company to develop new business opportunities.

Products and markets

Main products:

D’Market Movers has an inventory of 200+ products, including fresh fruit and vegetables, herbs and seasonings, meat and seafood, as well as various grocery items such as eggs, bread, prepared dishes, juices, coffee and household products.

Local, exotic frozen fruit products are also available from D’Market Movers online shop. The brand Farm & Function adds value to local fruit, such as papaya, pineapple, guava and passion fruit, by processing and freezing, thus making local and nutritious food accessible to everyone and substituting for some imported frozen fruit (such as pineapple and mango).

Main markets:

D’Market Movers delivers island-wide in Trinidad and Tobago.

Main services:

D’Market Movers delivers at the requested place (home, office, restaurant etc.) from Monday to Saturday. Orders are delivered within two to five days according to the standard option, but can be delivered on the next or same day if the express or rush option is chosen.

In addition to its delivery service, D’Market Movers opened a Click & Collect store in August 2021. Customers can choose between delivery and collect at the store when they place an order. The Click & Collect store offers customers more flexibility and greater convenience, as they can decide when to pick up their order, and don’t have to pay any delivery fee. The pick-up store was created to meet customers’ wish to go into a store and be able to interact with staff, in compliance with the current health measures in place.

Innovations: Milestones and expansion plans

Milestones:

D’Market Movers has continuously developed and improved its online shop interface and payment options. The company’s focus on indigenous foods, health and convenience has resulted in the creation of three distinct brands.

Farm & Function is a line of local, exotic processed frozen fruit products, mainly intended to substitute for some imported frozen fruits (such as pineapple and mango). Farm & Function products are available in retail stores, food services such as hotels and restaurants, and online sales, and are exported to Barbados and other islands (under expansion).

Market Movers Design is a company specialising in branding, packaging and e-commerce solutions for local food businesses in Trinidad and Tobago and across the region. It aims to help start-ups and small companies to improve their branding and packaging in order to be competitive, meet industry standards and be able to export. The company also provides a platform for local brands to be more visible on grocery shop shelves.

Our Moving Table is a monthly farm-to-table fine dining experience, with menus prepared using local ingredients. This initiative aims to show how local food can replace imported produce used in restaurants and hotels, and to educate the public on the importance of local agriculture. Events held before the Covid-19 crisis have been attended by both local customers and tourists.

Success factors and lessons learned

D’Market Movers has developed and maintains strong relationships with all stakeholders along the food value chain: customers, retailers and suppliers. It works continuously to create new opportunities for local farmers by sharing identified trends in consumption and demand, and consulting on organic agriculture.

The company’s network of farmers ensures continuous supply, avoiding the risks linked to being dependent on one or a few farmers.

The company’s customer-oriented approach is also a key driver of its success. Nowadays D’Market Movers has about 6,500 online clients, a number that increased during the Covid-19 pandemic as more people started to shop online. It is important to collect customer feedback to meet their expectations. This enables D’Market Movers to expand its portfolio and grow its business while increasing sales of local brands. During the pandemic, the company responded to new business opportunities, for example adding new snacks such as tamarind balls and kurma, based on customers’ requests.

Under COVID-19 restrictions, D’Market Movers’ enabled customers to be supplied with fresh food while ensuring their security, as they could do their food shopping from home.

The impact of D’Market Movers in improving the quality of life in local communities in Trinidad and Tobago was acknowledged in 2016 when its founders Rachel and David received the Ernst & Young “Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year” award from the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

Additional Resources

• Business profile (English)
• Business profile (French)
• Business profile (Spanish)