IziPizi - parcel machines for flexible food delivery in Latvia

By project SPOTLOG

Published on 26 February 2024

Latvia

About this good practice

The food or meal delivery market in Latvia has been experiencing a surge in demand manily due to its convenience. Based on projections, this market is expected to involve more than 23% of the population in Latvia in 2024, reaching 488k users by 2028. It was found the need for ensuring the smooth and fast delivery of food items throughout the region. Thus, the app of SIA "IziPizi" started operating in 2020 and has grown considerably to date - currently around 70 producers regularly send their products all over Latvia, while more than 1000 people have registered as couriers in the app. "IziPizi" has also become the official partner of the "Taste of the Region" platform, where farmers who do not have their own online store can sell their products, while "IziPizi" couriers ensure delivery to any place in Latvia. A food parcel that provides the temperature required for storage (+6 degrees) or the temperature of the freezer (-18 degrees) ensures the availability of local food and a better logistics solution.
It is the first food package solution in Latvia, provided with a temperature regime suitable for food storage and ensures that food producers (small farms, food artisans) do not have to deal with supply issues. Such a crowdsourcing solution is already a solid step towards shortening the food chain, which is one of the goals of the European Union's green course, which member states must achieve by 2050.

Resources needed

Although this is a private initiative, the public authorities found inspirational concept and conceded a Riga City Council's Courage grant. The total amount of the grant was 2000 EUR and was crucial to make and install a food locker with the necessary equipment for cooling/freezing.

Evidence of success

The solution is successful and in demand both from the point of view of producers and consumers, and 3 food parcels have already been placed during the year.
"IziPizi" is the official partner of the "Taste of the Region" platform, which is maintained by the Latvian Rural Consultation Center. The lack of delivery options was one of the reasons for the availability of local food. Currently around 70 producers are in IziPizi platform, more than 1000 people have registered as couriers in the app.

Potential for learning or transfer

One of the focuses of this initiative, which is possible to take over, is the joint cooperation and joint responsibility of society in providing sustainable solutions. The crowd platform is not only a financially sound model, but allows society to be responsible, contribute to supporting local producers. A technical solution of food lockers that allows to ensure the temperature required for food storage could be useful. The solution is especially suitable for places - regions and countries, which, like Latvia, have a low population density, which creates various disadvantages in standard supply chains. A crowd platform is a way to optimally use resources and pool them across different parts of society and stakeholders.
The food delivery solution is also much more rational from the point of view of ecology, because resources are not wasted. There are many small producers whose products people would love to buy, but this is not possible due to problems with the logistics system.