May 01, 2020
Blog post by Kelly Sweeny, Communications Director at the Detroit Regional Chamber
The COVID-19 pandemic is having a global effect on businesses and the economy, as executive orders shut down operations to slow the spread. One of the most prevalent of those impacted have been small businesses who rely on day-to-day revenue and foot traffic to stay open. On the other hand, this pandemic has also allowed small businesses to get creative and tap into new or additional means to reaching customers.
Beyond Juicery + Eatery is a great example of a business that has switched up their offerings to increase revenues and help the community. As someone who is regular visitor to Beyond, Plum Market, Urge Juice and other healthy options during my regular day-to-day schedule, I found I was lacking options under the new stay at home circumstances from what I could find at the heavily picked over grocery store.
I received an email from Beyond that had a promotion running for a free smoothie when you make your first purchase via their new App. I downloaded the App and placed my first order choosing a smoothie, then realized that they had expanded their services to include delivery and curbside pickup, along with their normal pickup options. Having the option for no contact delivery made it an even easier decision.
Beyond also has a lot more product offerings available than they typically do. I chose delivery and added a grocery bag for $5 you can fill with a minimum of three items with options of produce, toilet paper, and other essentials. Having not found toilet paper anywhere at this point, being able to easily add it to my smoothie and juice order made life a lot easier.
Another great addition was the option to order fresh produce such as avocados and grapefruit, among many other options. Given some people may not feel comfortable or not have the transportation to go to the grocery store during this time, expanding their offerings to provide this easy no-contact delivery options provides a great community service, while also keeping their business operations going.
Overall, the experience was easy and at the end of the day I have a week’s worth of juices, shots of turmeric and other needed essentials, produce, and some toilet paper stocked up.
