Start-up Celeste Daily on a growth mode
Companies seeking to overcome hurdles consumers face especially during unprecedented times are rare.
The tenacity of grocery delivery platform Celeste Daily that started as an arm of a hospitality management company extended to fulfil a critical need during the onset of the pandemic had a major impact on the market showcasing a rare example of how a problem is solved quickly and effectively.
Recognised by the World Bank for its entrepreneurship in times of trial Celeste Daily is a subsidiary of Jaysons Holdings, a hospitality management firm started with the idea to preserve the livelihoods of employees at the parent entity.
Janik Jayasuriya, CEO of the company recalled the start of this start-up to the Business Times on Friday noting:
“When the pandemic struck we had about 30 employees at our Nuwara Eliya hotels who were out of work. We already had our own farm and vegetable plantation because we source fresh produce for the hotels from our own. We also contacted a few nearby farms and took a few lorries up to Nuwara Eliya to bring down the produce to those who needed it in Colombo. At the time I thought of it as community service and we provided the fruits and vegetables at cost as a social service.” In March 2020 in the thick of the pandemic when farmers were unable to get their produce to the customers, Celeste Daily stepped in to make it convenient for customers in Colombo and the suburbs to place orders.
Through word-of-mouth “advertising”, Celeste Daily was being referred as the most reliable source for fresh produce. Having ventured out into creating a complete online supermarket with both local and international products, Celeste Daily now has an expanded warehouse and packaging facility in Colombo 5, tie-ups with Uber Eats and PickMe to reach a wider network and customers, and an extensive social media presence that has helped the brand grow.
“Today we handle thousands of deliveries a month. One of the highlights for us as a team has been the number of repeat customers who have completely placed their trust in us. Even after things have gone back to the new normal, most of our 25,000+ clients still rely on us for quality products and superior service," Mr. Jayasuriya added.
Celeste Daily has helped many local small and medium businesses by providing them a platform to market and sell their products.
The company was also responsible for launching a unique campaign of hiring retired senior citizens to Celeste Daily who help with the office and administrative work.
The next plan is to launch the company's own ecommerce platform by M a y, Mr. Jayasuriya added.
Opening a few outlets to give beyond the 5.5 km range of delivery to increase the radius is also on the cards, he said.