Sustainable practices are central to the platform’s values. Tell us more about this.
It’s key for DELLI to make sure that we are doing something that is sustainable for the planet – this can translate in different ways. If you are a seller who lives in Hackney in London, for example, do you deliver to Brixton in South London, or if you are in Edinburgh do you ship nationwide? These are difficult questions but we hope to keep trade as local as possible. Another aspect is that we will help sellers to offer eco-packaging or use bicycles for shipping. But in general, the sellers that we bring on board do drops once every week or two, and they only produce based on how much they sell. So, they are limiting waste.
Let’s talk storytelling. The DELLI Instagram is full of candid shots of food suppliers and manufacturers – why is this visual aesthetic important to the platform?
You might have noticed that the pictures on DELLI’s Instagram are unique compared to other platforms. We use direct flash, and we often show moments that are not perfect – there’s flour on people’s shoes or spilt products. The idea is to give it a sense of realness so that people can identify themselves as makers and think ‘maybe I can open a little shop on DELLI’. They might love making lemon cakes on a Sunday and even if they only sell three a month on the app, that’s cool. So, we communicate that through our content but also through the style of the pictures and the language we use – we try to put ourselves on the same level as our community and try to be part of it, too.
With that in mind, who is DELLI’s target audience?
Our goal is to attract curious people who don’t know about [the makers]. We don’t expect the app to be used as a grocery shop. You either buy a product because you are passionate and curious about something or because there is one product that you are willing to spend a little bit more on than usual.
