Consumers in China are responding to a new marketing strategy, which plays to the widespread fear of food contamination by promising safer groceries sold online, according to Reuters.
Vendors have found that food is becoming one of the fastest-growing subjects of Internet retailing as they cash in on scares from cadmium-tainted rice to recycled cooking oil.
According to Reuters, the trend is adding momentum to Chinese online retail. Companies such as COFCO Ltd and Shunfeng Express are betting that at least 1.3 billion people will pay for the peace of mind, when it comes to ordering food.
"I think people are willing to pay a higher premium than in the West," said Chen Yougang, a partner at consultancy McKinsey. "In other markets, like the UK, food e-commerce is about convenience. Here, there's going to be a higher quality and safety premium."
The total online sales of fresh produce in China could rocket to 40 billion yuan ($6.5 billion) in five years from about 11.5 billion yuan this year, according to Zhou Wen Quan, a senior analyst at Beijing Orient Agribusiness Consulting.
China's largest online shopping site, Yihaodian, owned by Wal-Mart and Jingdong Mall, has sold the most food. It package items or fruits with a relatively long shelf-life.Some companies are using the Internet to target higher-income consumers than supermarkets.
"The vegetables are really fresh," said Beijing resident Lei Na, who shops on websites such as Womai.com, owned by China's top food processor and trader COFCO. "Supermarket food doesn't look that fresh, especially if you only get there in the evening."
Last year, Shunfeng Express, China's largest delivery company, launched Shunfeng First Choice offering food to around 500,000 consumers. According to Reuters, about 70 percent are imported products such as wine and milk powder, but it also sells local seafood, meat and vegetables.
"We go directly to the farms to pick the produce, and then using our own logistics, deliver straight to the consumer. So from the tree to the consumer's dining table, we'll remove all the sectors in between," said Yang Jun, director of sales and marketing.
According to Reuters, vendors believe cutting out the middleman increases freshness and makes food more traceable. Packaged barcodes that can be read by smart phones help consumers verify the origin of items.
Companies are very descriptive about their products online. Customers looking at free-range chickens on the Benlai Shenghuo website, a 2012 start-up whose name roughly translates as "original life", get details on the breed they are selecting and its diet, along with photos of the birds wandering on farms
