Today we’d like to introduce you to Boyede Sobitan and Fola Dada.
Boyede and Fola, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
The idea came about after speaking with some friends about their struggle in obtaining African groceries. Specifically, a friend’s wife lamented on how the African grocery stores were not conveniently located, and when she does go she has to take her two young children with her. She uses Peapod for her other groceries, so I (Boyede) started to do research and discovered there were no same day or next day services for the immigrants, and specifically African and Caribbean immigrant demographic.
I shared this idea with my co-founder, Fola Dada, who was intrigued, but not convinced. So I essentially had to pitch my co-founder on joining the journey, by showing him copious amounts of reports and data about the potential of this ideas.
Has it been a smooth road?
This has been far from a smooth road. Any business, especially businesses that serve a nice clientele will be difficult. You don’t know, what you don’t know. Hence, we have to remain flexible and iterative at all times. Then personalities clash at times, especially when key decisions need to be made, so there is a lot of give and take.
As it relates to the business itself, our biggest challenge has been operationalizing a process for customer demographic that is entrenched in doing things, the “old fashioned” way. We are constantly challenged with the task of making things as seamless and easy for our customers as possible. Since we are pursuing a customer demographic that has been ignored, as it relates to technology and service, it has been a challenge that we face daily.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the OjaExpress story. Tell us more about the business.
OjaExpress is an on-demand marketplace for ethnic groceries. OjaExpress offers ethnic grocery stores a unique opportunity to engage their customers, while attracting new customers. Many of the ethnic grocers, mom & pop, lack the technology infrastructure to engage current customers, or attract new customers. OjaExpress platform allows for direct consumer engagement.
Many immigrants go through major pains to find their cultural groceries. The normal routine is to visit their neighborhood grocery first, then travel another 45 minutes or hours to get their native ethnic grocery items, generally not available in major US grocers. Millions of immigrants have had to change their diet and lifestyles because of the difficulties of finding their native food items.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
For the demographic we serve, we envision a tremendous amount of growth. We also see, non-native consumers utilizing our platform. With the growth of immigrants, and foodies in the US, people are more willing to experiment with new dishes and recipes, and we see ourselves as a key part of this movement, by making food items, that cannot be purchased at the big grocery stores, readily accessible at the tip of your finger. OjaExpress will be the United Nations of food, at your fingertip!
Pricing:
- Deliveries are $6.99
- Minimum order $19.99
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ojaexpress.com
- Phone: 877-472-1180
- Email: info@ojaexpress.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ojaexpress/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ojaex/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ojaexpress
Image Credit:
OjaExpress
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
