Whether you’re looking to buy Zespri kiwifruit from New Zealand, Fuji apples from Japan or a punnet of cherries that won’t break the bank, it helps to have a one-stop-shop for farm-fresh produce – everything from meat and dairy products to fruits and vegetables, plus a variety of pantry products. It would also be good to be able to shop these groceries online and have it all delivered to your house!
Open Taste is exactly that: a platform for online groceries that acts as a “global farmer’s market”, giving consumers in Singapore the opportunity to shop everything from coconuts from Thailand to pasta from Italy, alongside grass-fed Australian beef cuts and the makings of a charcuterie board straight from Spain. What’s more, the products available through Open Taste are sold at a wholesale rate. That means you can expect prices to be 30 to 50 percent cheaper than for the same items carried at local bricks-and-mortar supermarkets and specialty online grocers. It’s not hard to become a convert once you realise that the same quality meat is half as much as what you’ve previously paid in Singapore, or that organic produce is available for a few bucks cheaper than the non-organic version at the big-name market down the road.
How is this possible? As an innovative logistics service for perishable food rather than an actual online supermarket with inventory, Open Taste is able to keep prices super low by sourcing directly from suppliers, thus cutting out the costly process of middle men. Though the site doesn’t offer every single item you’d need in your daily life (you’ll still have to order your bulk toilet paper elsewhere!), the website does have a broad range of fresh, perishable products, both organic and non-organic, at hard-to-resist prices.
How it works
After your order is placed, OpenTaste collects the products from the producers worldwide. Once in Singapore, each customer’s order is repacked at a collection centre before delivery. Your order is delivered to your doorstep within 36 hours of placing your order. Premium members (from $29.99 per year) get unlimited free delivery on all orders over $49, plus a two percent reward on all purchases and two free samples. For non-premium members, delivery is free on orders with bulk items over $150 and orders without bulk items over $49. Smaller orders cost between $4.95 to $6.95 to deliver; refer to the online store for more details.
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This article first appeared in the February 2019 edition of Expat Living. You can purchase a copy or subscribe so you never miss an issue!
