Surprises for Customers on Yom HaAtzmaut
“I opened my store three months ago, at the start of the third lockdown, together with my cousin Or. He has experience in this sector; he has a processing plant for in Ramat Gan for edible seeds and nuts—popular snacks in Israel—that he sells to stores and supermarkets. Our goal is to develop the store into a national chain. Of course we were concerned about the timing of the launch, but we have been through so many challenges in the past year that I have no fear left. We sell dried fruits and spice blends that we buy or prepare ourselves. Our specialty, however, is our high-quality caramelized seeds and nuts—pecan-oreo, pecan-halva (Israeli sesame-based confection), almond-malabi (a Middle Eastern milk pudding), hazelnuts with Ferrero Rocher and ground coconut, and more. I work by myself, and the kids sometimes come by to help.
“At first there was almost no footfall, but it was not necessarily to do with the lockdown—people had just adapted and were getting by on their own accord. Since the end of the third lockdown, however, people have started leaving the house, and sales have begun to increase, thank God. We have Facebook and Instagram pages, and we also ran a successful campaign on local radio, because we are in a central location—between Holon, Bat Yam and Rishon LeZion.
“The industry for seeds and nuts, spices and dried fruits does not really lend itself to deliveries, because people like to come and taste the products themselves. We are already looking to the future, and the goal is for us to prepare and grind the spices ourselves. At the same time, we are in advanced negotiations to set up a larger processing plant in the Petah Tikva area. The problem is that it takes us longer to receive the necessary permits than it does to set up the plant itself. In the meantime, business is improving in the store, and although it’s large and spacious, we are careful to make sure that customers are not crowded together and that they don’t touch the products with their bare hands, only with gloves. We have some exciting surprises lined up for Yom HaAtzmaut. I can’t give it away yet, I can only say that there will be new seeds and nuts and additional products that we were not allowed to sell over Passover and that now we can.”
The writer is the owner of Shuk HaPitzohim, 3 David Saharov St, Rishon LeZion (Stoochy Towers). Tel: 050-6791274