Find Tasty helps indies and shoppers in lockdown
When the lockdown was announced, everything changed overnight for many businesses, as well as people expected to remain at home. We wanted to help in some way, so within a few days, with some talented people on board, we launched Find Tasty online. This was our way to keep food and drink businesses visible, and to help people wanting to know which shops remained open when so many are shut.
It was the same story as many small businesses, when Find Marketing shut up the office for lockdown. We retreated home in shock, wondering what would happen; if we would keep our clients, if the lockdown would be a long time and of course, would the Covid 19 virus infect our loved ones?
the new normal in supermarkets
At home, we navigated work, the challenges of educating our children and tried to keep it together, whilst confined to the house. It was when supplies began to run low that we faced the new normal that was the dystopian supermarket experience. It was unpleasant. People kept apart, long queues, guards on doors, diminished stock on shelves and tannoy announcements reminding us to check we were distancing ourselves from others. We soon realised that many small businesses that sell food and drink, important products and those operating delivery services, remained open all around the local area. Without the ease of exploring or knowing who was open for business, it was difficult to locate and take a look at those shops, as unnecessary travel is shunned.
championing independent shops
We decided to create a platform called Find Tasty for small food and drink businesses everywhere, so they could list their services and be discovered by people nearby. For those companies that were previously invisible online or not easy to find in search, the platform steps in to help rectify this. For companies selling more stock during the outbreak, Find Tasty presents a way to keep in the public eye, and remain there after the outbreak is over. We made it free for businesses to sign up, as we perceive this as a community project, first and foremost. We want to make sure the supermarkets are not the only shops that are still trading when the virus is beaten.
making nearby shops easier to find
For people stuck at home, Find Tasty allows them to search for the kinds of products and businesses they need, relevant to the location they live at. There are maps and contact details, images and descriptions for each signed-up business. If you are at home, whether you are short of bread and milk, or you want a takeaway or perhaps some beer delivered without a trip to a supermarket, Find Tasty aims to help you navigate where to find what you need.
If you are a small business, selling food and drink, garden products or household products then please sign up on Find Tasty. We did this for you, to keep customers. The more businesses that sign up, the more useful this service will be for everyone looking to shop during this crisis.
On a last note, myself and Helen, as the founders of Find Tasty, were ill with what was presumed to be Covid 19, as the idea of Find Tasty turned into a reality. The virus is very fatiguing, so we want to say a massive thanks to Kyle Holmes and Danielle Holmes, Steve Furley, Carolyn Bunt, Jo Palmer and Karen Mignon and for the businesses that helped us to test the service. You have been brilliant under the tight deadlines and difficult circumstances, thank you.