Why we stop to sell fresh Green Caviar Seaweeds ?
Why we stop to sell fresh Green Caviar Seaweeds ?
We officially commenced our production in the early of 2017, it’s been more than 2 years since then we have found many problems in which many retailers or local farmers are quite familiar with. We have made quite an extensive reserch on demand of the market together with direct consumers, we have found that Fresh Green Caviar Seaweeds can not respond to the needs of consumers in many respects. Because of these issues, we have begun our intensive researh into how we could preserve our green caviar seaweeds to be able to serve all the needs of both domestic and international markets. Now Our product can be obtained to the market all year round, in addition to that, we have also created in a good deal of green caviar seaweeds-based dishes consistently. The issues relate to Fresh Green Caviar Seaweeds are mainly concerned with distance and limited shelf life.
When comparing fresh green caviar seaweeds, we see it no different from vegetables like coriander, despite the more intensive cultivation process. We say they are like coriander because they have a very short lifespan, similar to harvested coriander – the leaves will wilt before long, and they must be thrown away, leaving a percentage of waste from every batch bought. Coriander has one advantage over fresh green caviar seaweeds since they can be stored in a refrigerator to prolong its shelf life, but fresh green caviar seaweeds cannot be stored at temperatures lower than 18 degrees Celsius, nor can they be stored in very hot environment. For that reason, using fresh green caviar seaweeds in the kitchen can be troublesome and more effort required than what it is worth, and most importantly, there is no farm in the country that can supply fresh seaweeds to restaurants every single day. The system is disrupted by nature, temperature, and various other obstacles. Restaurants became aversive to using green caviar seaweeds, because they cannot be consistently used.
When looking from the perspective of online merchants, the same issue occurs because fresh green caviar seaweeds cannot be mailed to their recipients. Fresh green caviar seaweeds have the same properties as trees – when trees are moved to different locations, they begin to shed leaves as a survival mechanic, and fresh green caviar seaweeds do the same, but they tend to get rid of water “leaves” as a response to survival mechanisms. For example, merchants may weigh the green caviar seaweeds at 100 grams, but once they are sent through the mail, they go through hot and crowded environments. Fresh green caviar seaweeds then shed water, and by the time it has reached the recipient, there would be only 40-50 grams left. Consumers may grow frustrated and demand to know “why it was not 100 grams as promised”, leading to online disputes over refunds, or a loss of trust in the merchant – all of this is born from a lack of understanding in the characteristic quality of fresh green caviar seaweeds, and it leads to a lot of misunderstanding from both ends.
The Problems with Green Caviar Seaweeds for Chefs/Restaurant
1.Chefs may find it to be a hassle to have to learn new things – some may not have any ideas for dishes that use green caviar seaweeds.
2. Storing and caring for green caviar seaweeds is difficult, as they are sensitive towards temperature and storage areas.
3.Green caviar seaweeds have a short shelf life, shipping must be fast, forcing customers to consume more.
4.Has a lot of waste due to not being able to sell them all, and they deteriorate quickly leading to higher costs.
5.Green caviar seaweeds from farms or wholesalers may not be in supply at all times, especially off-season.
The Problems with Green Caviar Seaweeds for Online Merchants
1.Green caviar seaweeds are a seasonal crop, and cannot be supplied to customers during the off-season.
2.Once customers have sent an order, they must ship it via mail which causes issues as seen in the pictures above.
3.During the rainy season, keeping stock becomes an issue due to a lack of products, and they are unable to send out any products for months.
4.When they want to ship their products via mail, they are met with various regulations, from Kerry, DHL or Thailand Post.
The Problems with Fresh Green Caviar Seaweeds
1.Green caviar seaweeds have a short lifespan, and they are very fragile. They cannot be stored in cold or hot conditions (because of this, they cannot be refrigerated).
2.Green caviar seaweeds cannot be produced consistently, meaning nobody can supply it on time with consistent batch sizes. Restaurants do not favor this due to problems with quality and continuity with customers.
3.Shipping issues: if the product were delivered over long distances, the sea grapes are affected by water loss, and it makes them deteriorate over the journey due to its fragility.
4.Green Caviar lose water, making them lose weight, and customers do not understand why this is the case, leaving them feeling cheated.
5.Green Caviar are seasonal, with optimal growth occurring in January to May – there is a lack of sea grapes for over half the year.
6.No matter what postal service is used, none of them accept fresh foods as they may be damaged during transit, or even damage other parcels.
7.Online merchants receive orders which they cannot fulfill due to supply issues with farms, making them seem untrustworthy.
8.If the origins of the green caviar seaweeds are lacking in quality, the green caviar seaweeds may have an intense fishy smell – to newcomers, it may seem unappetizing and may put them off green caviar seaweeds for the rest of their life. This problem arises due to a lack of understanding of the cultivation process, the hygiene of the producer and the middlemen merchants.
9.Chefs feel that Green Caviar Seaweeds are products that require special care despite having such a short shelf life, and there is a high risk that the Green Caviar will not be completely sold, meaning a lot of Green Caviar Seaweeds are wasted. This leads to high costs, as the green caviar seaweeds may begin to create unappetizing smells.
10.Etc.
Based on the issues described, there are still many more to cover, but this should be an appropriate summary of the various obstacles regarding fresh seaweed. The path towards the market for fresh green caviar seaweeds is not an easy one due to their fragility, which is why we at Boonthida Farm developed a method that answers all these problems. The Balance of supply and demand is our top priority. With this in mind, we developed “bottled Green Caviar”, a preservation method that allows us to solve these issues.
