Online shopping platform hopes to start mini boom in home-based grocery businesses across Alberta

With COVID-19ravaging small businesses in Alberta,three Calgary businessownersteamed up to find a way to weather the storm while helping other community based businesses stay connected to customers.

After seeing business decline by up to 90 per centduring thepandemic, the trio developed an online platform and app to launch new shops direct from people's kitchens and basements, while also serving existing home-based stores and businesses.

Ricco Dela Torre, founder of Nimbly Market, says he was inspired by his grandfather's small, home-based neighbourhood 'sari-sari', or varietystore in the Philippines,where he says as manyas70 per cent of consumer food products in that country are sold.

They're a big part of life there.

"Why not take this concept to Calgary and create more businesses?" said Dela Torre, who is joined by wife Ailene in the venture."But to be able to do that we needed to develop a platform."

Nimbly Market allows people to set up their own micro-businesses selling specialtyproducts many bigger supermarkets and stores don't stock, including hard-to-find items popular with different immigrant communities.

"The big box stores can't build their stores in small communities. And this also helps people who've lost their jobs who are looking to create a new opportunity from home," said DelaTorre.

He says the platform is about providing people with a safe, COVID-friendly way to shop in their own communities.

"You will have limited contact. There's not a lot of foot traffic and nobody's touching the product. The owner is the one packing your products," he said.

"It could be a convenience store, pet shop, bakeries, a small store within the community. The platformallows customers to see nearby stores within a fiveor 10 kilometre radius," said DelaTorre.

Customers can have purchases delivered direct from a business owner, picked up or delivered by a Nimbly Market driver.

Dela Torre says they already have a pilot up and running with home-based grocery stores in the Calgary communities of Cornerstone and Auburn Bay, along with a store in Grande Prairie.

"They are already licensed by the city and we have approval from the province," said DelaTorre.

They're now busy working to bring more small community businesses on board, establishing relationships with suppliers and readying their new shop and delivery app.

Nimbly Market's system includes inventory management, digital and traditional marketing, customer service, transaction processing and even a delivery app, similar to Skip the Dishes and Uber, but cheaper for businesses to use.

Anyone running a small business or hobby venturefrom home that requires getting products to customers can sign up.

"Many of these small independent stores don't have the reach or the technology to even have a basic website," saidBrian Morales. "We found a solution."

Morales said it benefits customers too.

"In the northeast we had a single mom working from home who couldn't go out to get groceries and she wanted to order a specific product for her son, and we could make sure we had that. You have that community relationship and a closer experience," Morales said.

"You can select a certain time for your delivery and there are different options for that," he said.

The referral fee is a lot lower than the big delivery apps, closer to10 to 18 per centinstead of 30 per centlike some of the big restaurant delivery apps.

The team say they hope to launch their app fully in 2021.