Upercart, a Jamaican online grocery store founded by entrepreneur Franz Weathers, aims to transform the delivery and utilisation of remittances for grocery purchases on the island. The service, which intends to provide same-day grocery delivery across 14 parishes, collaborates with grocery stores and delivery service providers to offer its own curated list of groceries, facilitate sales, handle packaging, accept payments, and ensure efficient delivery.

Weathers launched Upercart in his home parish of Manchester during the COVID-19 health crisis capitalising on an emerging, pandemic-driven delivery infrastructure of small-scale WhatsApp-based delivery businesses.

These businesses demonstrated to the entrepreneur that delivery, even in the pandemic, was not a problem but he quickly assessed that inflation was.

“So what we said is if delivery was solved, what would we build on top of that,” Weathers related. “We would sell daily needs things you buy every day, you know rice, water, diapers, rubbing alcohol and so on but, of course, the problem with that was inflation. You know, one of the fastest we’ve ever seen from supply chain issues to the war in Ukraine. It just kept going.”

In an environment that limited the spending power of Jamaicans, Weathers concluded that if his online grocery store was to survive, it must provide customers with tools for overcoming inflation and that is where remittances could make the difference.

“Of course, one of the largest markets that helps us is the diaspora,” the Upercart founder revealed. “They send over US$3 billion a year and about 70 per cent of that is spent locally on groceries – what we sell.”

“So we said, yes, we are going to deliver groceries,” he continued. “But what if we design the company in such a way where it is not just targeting the diaspora as in marketing to them, but we put in all the bells and whistles that they’re used to, making it easier for them so they don’t have to send money and the receiver doesn’t have to go pick up [money] or stand in a line to then go to the grocery store.”

In the past months, Upercart, which is operated remotely by members spread across Jamaica, New York and the Dominican Republic, set about testing its software and fine-tuning operations to allow someone abroad to purchase groceries required by a recipient in Jamaica and have them delivered, rather than sending the money via a remittance service.

“For the senders, transparency is a major concern,” Weathers disclosed. “They want to know exactly what they are purchasing and have confidence that their loved ones will receive the items within an hour. By providing a clear and transparent process, we alleviate their worries and provide peace of mind.”

With the details ironed out and tested, Upercart recently relaunched its website featuring a catalogue of approximately 4,000 items, improved speed and optimised services.

The focus has now turned to marketing which Weathers says begins at the point of need, which means targeting the recipients who can then pass on information to friends and family overseas guiding them on how to use the service. He notes that this approach, which started during the test period, builds trust in Upercart’s convenience.

The strategy reflects a conservative, step-by-step approach to expand the service from the parish of Manchester to the rest of the island.

“I spent time in the BPO industry from 2011 to 2015 where I worked for one of the world’s largest e-commerce companies,” Weathers disclosed. “So we learned about just treating every customer like it’s the only customer. They will speak with you, they will spend with you, they will tell their friends and family. So that’s what we’re doing. We’re not rushing out there to do 14 parishes and then have a bad customer experience.”

The timeline is three years to establish an islandwide presence. In the meantime, the Upercart founder is already looking at expansion outside Jamaica.

“We have recently hired someone in the Dominican Republic to assist us with social media and related activities,” he said. “Our aim is to form a regional team with a regional mindset, enabling us to expand our services across the Caribbean.”

The Upercart team currently includes Weathers; a chief marketing officer; a chief information officer; an advisor who brings extensive experience in data, corporate governance, and software; and a mix of full-time and part-time staff members comprising the customer support team.

Weathers disclosed that they are now looking to raise capital to accelerate Upercart’s expansion.