Quinciple Leverages Tech, Delivers Farmers Market to Your Door [Video]

A growing number of companies are using technology to streamline distribution and help consumers buy local food directly from small farmers and makers.

“The local online food space is wide open. The market is huge, and it’s just growing from year to year,” says Quinciple co-founder Markus Jacobi. Quinciple brings the farmers market to you through weekly subscription boxes, which contain seasonal ingredients from local producers.

The startup’s business model is built around bolstering small scale farmers. Its boxes contain 12-14 items  – fruits, vegetables, dairy products, fish, grains etc. – along with recipes for inspiration. But unlike meal box startups such as Blue Apron and Plated, Quinciple does not portion ingredients for individual meals. Its offering is more along the lines of grocery delivery, a la Good Eggs, meets community supported agriculture (CSA) share, like Farmigo.

The bootstrapped startup launched in March 2013 and since then membership has increased 25-30 percent every month, according to Jacobi. One day the teams hopes to grow into a one-stop shop for local products, offering everything from seasonal food and accompanying recipes to educational information regarding agriculture and food, says co-founder Kate Galassi.

At our October Food+Tech Meetup “The Business of Meal Kit Subscriptions,” Jacobi and Galassi presented their company’s model and mission (video below), which includes an audience Q&A that dives deeper into the startup’s supply chain logistics and scalability.

Quinciple from Food Tech Connect on Vimeo.