AESTHETICALLY PLEASING

interior

As more and more people are becoming accustomed to the online shopping concept, shops continue popping up in recent times. A fruit and vegetable shop recently opened in Karachi. Freshop, as the name says it all, is the brain child of husband and wife duo, Nida Huq and Nadeem Huq. It offers top quality fresh fruits, vegetables, seafood, dry fruits and other edibles. And guess what, the prices are actually reasonable for extremely good quality fruits and vegetables.

While the produce being offered at the shop is certainly fresh, one of its unique features is also its tastefully designed shop interior. The shop is designed on straight and clean lines with complete attention given to hygiene and neatness. The interior of the shop speaks volume about the fine taste of Nida and Nadeem in décor. This aesthetically driven couple has opted for grey and green as the main colours for the interior of their shop. They believe this combination indicates freshness. Grey and green are also their brand colours.

The shop has been neatly laid out. From outside the shop, you can see very neat carts and shelves through the sparkling glass windows. You can see shelves of nuts and dry fruits displayed in bottled containers. When you enter, on the right are the shelves of vegetables and on the left fruits. The counter is at the back of the shop, and beside the counter the two refrigerators to keep seafood and specific vegetables fresh.

On how and why the couple came up with the idea of Freshop, Nida explains, “We have noticed that people are always looking for fresh fruits and vegetables. Though there is no dearth of vendors selling fruits and vegetables but what lacks is the availability of a vast and diverse range of fresh produce and the looming question whether we actually get them as fresh as the shop keepers claim them to be. We saw a great uncatered market segment which promised great volumes.

The Covid-19 situation helped. The newer generation are trying to save time and multitask. People avoid standing in long queues and are becoming more conscious about their health. They prefer a fruit and vegetable outlet like ours over a regular shop. However, we cannot avoid the traditional buyers who want to touch and see the edibles before buying. Thus, we came up with an idea of a grocery store which caters to both online and physical customers. Our online shop caters to the masses and our physical shop is for building brand trust.”

So what distinguishes your shop from others? To this end, Nida says, “We take pride in selling fresh products. We check our inventory twice every day for any fermented products. We encourage vacuum packaging which helps increase shelf life of our products. Our jarred goods are homemade and fresh with no preservatives.”

And who are your targeted clients? “The target market is customers who value time and health over money. We prefer marketing to those who are into fancy cooking. They want the best for their families whether it comes to health or taste,” shares Nadeem Huq.

The response so far has been satisfactory. Nida and Nadeem feel that working women are most receptive to this idea of shopping online. “Of course, it helps immensely if the product is top of the line at reasonable rates,” elucidates Nida. The couple now plan to add a salad and juice bar to their existing set-up.

Sure sounds like a treat, especially during Ramazan since a constant complain is substandard fruit and vegetables, you can now be sure to get your hands on some fresh stock from the shop.