SOUTH AFRICA – Retail and food service store, FreshStop at Caltex has partnered with food delivery app, Mr D Food to allow customers to order their food, snacks and drinks for delivery through the Mr D app.

“Our recent partnership with Mr D Food has been the ideal way for us to reach the most vulnerable in society,” said Joe Boyle, Managing Director at FreshStop.

“The elderly, and those who don’t have transport, can now order our food and beverages online. We currently have 40 stores listed and we’re adding more stores daily to the online platform.”

According to Boyle, the fact that FreshStop has always offered its customers fresh fruit and vegetables, healthy snacks, and smoothies, as well as a range of grocery items has made all the difference over lockdown.

He said, “We’ve been lucky to build on our fresh produce offering during this time and we are focused on introducing a larger range of healthier options”.

FreshStop has also increased the Grab n Go selection to include prepacked food items which reduces the need for one-on-one customer service.

Due to government restrictions, the convenience store have had to move more towards a self-service model during this time so that customers can pop in, find what they need and check-out without too much personal interaction, as speed of service is one of the keys to the lockdown objectives.

Boyle said, “Despite the fact that approximately 40 percent of our sales have been negated because we can no longer sell hot foods or coffee, we are very proud that some of our retailers are experiencing a 20 percent increase in overall sales turnover.”

Recently Mr D Food announced their partnership with Checkers to deliver prescriptions and medication to MediRite pharmacy customers.