This online grocer continues to up its game in Singapore’s sustainable food space, including new meat-free, plant-based and vegan foods. Plus, the old favourites are still there and can now be ordered on an automated delivery system.
Known for high-quality, ethically produced, hormone-free and additive-free meat, fish, ready-made meals and healthy snacks, Sasha’s Fine Foods has been a source for food-conscious shoppers since its original inception as The Barbie Girls back in 2011. The company was started by British expat SASHA CONLAN, who made weekly supplies of sustainably sourced produce available to consumers looking for “clean” food for their families.
Once Sasha’s product range grew beyond barbecue meats to include key grocery and specialty items – from Italian burrata and cage free New Zealand eggs to homemade bone broths, pastas, vegetable boxes and artisanal treats – the shop rebranded as Sasha’s Fine Foods.
What’s new?
Two years since the re-launch, the online grocer continues to expand its offerings and features. For example, a new subscription service gives customers the option of automating delivery of their favourite items every two weeks.
“This is a fully personalised service where you can build your own box of products,” says Sasha. “If you change your mind, you can cancel the subscription at any time. Our regular customers wanted an automated service for delivery of regular grocery items like milk, eggs, bread, chicken and mince. And, after a year of back-end technical work, I’m proud to say we’re finally there!”
Shoppers can expect delivery to their doorsteps on the same day of purchase if they order by 3pm (minimum spend: $150). It’s free next-day delivery (minimum spend: $100) if they order by 5pm. Orders are delivered in two-hour time slots, seven days a week, by Sasha’s fleet of delivery trucks and drivers. (If you’re lucky, you might meet the always-friendly Iz Mar, who has worked with Sasha on deliveries since the beginning.) “The fact that we’re an e-commerce-only company gives me a clear, singular focus on exemplary customer service,” says Sasha. “It starts the minute someone visits our website, to the moment my amazing drivers unpack a delivery in someone’s kitchen. This level of service is an increasingly important part of why customers remain loyal. I believe we lead the pack in this regard.”
Plant-based and vegan offerings
After 18 months of careful researching, taste testing, sourcing and rejecting different plant based products, the online grocer now sells meat-free sausages and burger patties by Beyond Meat, along with vegan pizzas, dhal and other veggie-packed meals in a dedicated “Plant” section on the site.
“My decision to launch any new product is always based on a combination of things. I look at global trends, feedback from customers and my own gut instinct. The launch of the plant-based collection is no exception. I felt that better meat alternatives and plant-based products had to be out there, and, no matter the effort, I would find them,” says Sasha. “I hope these carefully sourced products will interest all customers. That includes flexitarians, vegans and vegetarians to those just looking for the odd break from meat.”
Her favourite plant-based pick? A range of flavour-packed, ready-made vegan meals from the UK called The Brook.
Fresh finds, old favourites
Customers can still get the lamb, pork, beef, poultry and fish they love and expect from Sasha’s meticulously vetted suppliers. (Long-time bestsellers include Mount Cook Alpine salmon, fresh local chicken breasts, English Wicks Manor sausages and bacon, and wild blue cod from New Zealand.) Yet Sasha is also focused on extending the range this year, launching over 80 new products. The recently introduced local sustainable fish – something she’s been on the hunt for in recent years – has become an instant hit, she says.
“At last I’ve found a fish supplier in Singapore with excellent fresh barramundi and red snapper that are both great quality and delicious. These fish are sustainably farmed by using holding tanks on floating platforms in the ocean. With all the debates surrounding the health of the ocean, I’m thrilled to support the Singapore government’s initiative to produce more local produce,” she says.
Another popular addition is the Fox River by Mount Barker free-range chicken, which also took years to procure. “As a family, we’d been enjoying this incredible chicken for years while holidaying in Margaret River. I was desperate to get my hands on it for Singapore! This farm in Western Australia is among the most beautiful and inspirational farms I’ve seen. The chickens are played classical music each morning, fed the cleanest, natural grains and have enormous barns to shelter in,” says Sasha.
“The sides of the barns are raised each morning for the chickens to roam freely outside amongst the vines. There, they peck away all day at insects, seeds, nuts and grapes before heading off to shaded puddles and shelters. Or back inside the barns, if they wish. Welfare is of great importance, and a huge amount of time and resources are dedicated to exploring the most sustainable farming practices.”
Personal touch
This emphasis, along with a strict selection process, has been key to the website from day one. In fact, Sasha is so serious about working only with suppliers who respect the entire production process that she has personally met each one of her 55 suppliers, and will only launch a product if she feels it’s exceptional. She makes four “big trips” per year, walking farms and fisheries everywhere from the English and Irish countrysides to New Zealand’s alpine rivers and Australian cattle lands. Customers can read about each supplier on the website (under the dedicated “Provenance” section) – who they are, how they farm or fish, what the animals are fed, and so on. This also ensures that all products sold on the site are free of antibiotics, growth hormones and nasty additives.
It’s this dedication to quality, transparency and provenance that Sasha believes has her customers coming back time and time again to buy her products.
Learn more about the online grocer at sashasfinefoods.com.
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This article first appeared in the September 2019 edition of Expat Living. You can purchase a copy or subscribe so you never miss an issue!
