Online grocer Farmdrop has gone out of business a week before Christmas, stated reports on Friday (17), leaving hundreds of customers who had ordered turkeys, geese and other festive food scrambling to find alternatives.
The company confirmed it had gone into administration and was “permanently closed”, so it would not be delivering any orders from Friday onwards. Those who have paid will have to approach their bank or card company to ask about getting their money back. Thursday (16) was the final day of deliveries.
“As of 15th December, it has become apparent that we have exhausted all possible options. It is with very heavy hearts that we must let you know that we will no longer be able to serve our cherished customers. 16th December will be the final day of deliveries,” said the company website.
Customers, who had been expecting a delivery over the next few days and some among which were isolating, took to social media raising questions about their Christmas dinner.
Farmdrop was founded in 2012 by city broker Ben Pugh after discovering a void in decent local food available in London, and spied an opportunity to connect farmers with consumers using the internet.
Over the years, it was supplying responsibly sourced, homegrown and organic produce from independent producers, and sold hundreds of different items, from organic pigs in blankets to recycled toilet paper. It began by delivering produce from local farmers to libraries, community centres and pubs, but later upgraded to a fleet of electric vans so it could offer next-day delivery directly to people’s homes.
In June 2018, the company said it had raised £10m from investors, including the founder of Skype, Niklass Zennström, to take its home delivery service to the north of England.
It is said to have expanded rapidly during the pandemic, enjoying unprecedented growth in orders as large numbers of locked-down households switched to online deliveries, stated reports.
However, earlier this year, the company reported pre-tax losses of £10m compared with £11m the previous year.
The debacle comes as a heavy blow to its 450-plus producers, some of whom said on social media they were owed money.
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