The guys behind Get Fresh Detroit have made their last deliveries of fresh food to local bodegas for 2010, and they plan to come back next year with a new business plan and fresh financing.
Get Fresh Detroit provides fresh produce to local corner stores throughout the city, making things like vegetables available in places many working people depend on for food but often lack healthy options that aren't pre-packaged. The 1-year-old firm made its way into about a dozen stores this year, selling 70-80 percent of its products. However, that good start didn't promise to get the southwest Detroit-based company very far.
"The current business model isn't financially sustainable," says Noam Kimelman, CEO of
Get Fresh Detroit. "We're trying to figure out something that is sustainable. That might include new products, like egg salad or chicken salad on top of produce packs."
The new Get Fresh Detroit could provide enough products to fill its own branded cooler. The products will still focus on fresh, affordable and healthy foods coming from as many local sources as possible.
Kimelman and his partner, Zach Markin, plan to regroup and figure out that plan this winter before relaunching Get Fresh Detroit this spring. The University of Michigan students have linked up $10,000 from a
Kickstarter campaign, $5,000 from a business competition prize to help get that renewed effort off the ground. They're also going after $30,000 in new funding while looking for new business partners. Anyone interested in investing or participating in Get Fresh Detroit can contact Kimelman at noam@getfreshdetroit or (313) 444-5027.
Source: Noam Kimelman, CEO of Get Fresh Detroit
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at
SEMichiganStartup.com.
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