About Fishers Foods
Founded in 1933, Fishers Foods is a family-run grocery store with four locations in Stark County, Ohio. “We've been a part of the community for a very long time,” says Vice President Alex Fisher, a fourth-generation family member who oversees marketing and ecommerce, as well as specialty and local foods. “We've gone through a lot of changes over the generations, but each generation has definitely left their mark.”
In addition to thousands of grocery items, Fishers is known for its wide craft beer and wine selection, as well as its homemade meals and baked goods. “We have a full bakery staff,” Alex says. “We produce all of our baked goods in-house at our main location, and we distribute them out to the stores — everything from doughnuts to pies, to cakes to cookies. That’s what we’re famous for.”
Committed to quality and service
Adapting to changing needs while staying true to Fishers Foods’ commitment to quality and service was the initial business challenge. As Alex puts it, “We're very hands-on, and always have been. We know our customers very well, and that’s something my grandfather and my father taught me. We've always been known for our service.”
Alex wanted to continue to support local providers — who offer everything from pita bread to salsa to Amish-style bologna — while also growing sales and awareness for the store’s hot food offerings. “We do our own homemade Chinese,” he says. “We have woks inside every location.”
Having introduced a website several years ago, Fishers had experimented with online ordering. Given the time constraints of his customers’ daily life, not to mention the coronavirus pandemic, Alex knew that grocery delivery was a channel that needed to grow and flourish.
While he felt strongly about maintaining quality control and customer service, Alex knew that managing an in-house delivery team would require additional staffing. A third-party service was the obvious choice.
“We did partner with a local delivery service but the expense per order and limitations on logistics including drivers just simply was not a good fit. That’s when we considered DoorDash to take over sole responsibility of all deliveries through FishersFoods.com.”
After using and considering other food delivery services, DoorDash seemed to always have the most variety, full menu offerings, and functionality. These factors helped me determine that DoorDash could easily be my go-to food delivery service — and the DashPass was well worth every cent.
Seamless integration and added convenience
A DoorDash user himself, Alex was eager to start a trial program when he first heard that DoorDash was exploring offering grocery delivery services. “It just made sense for us,” he says.
Working with the DoorDash team, he was able to load thousands of SKUs into the system quickly. “The product catalog was the number one priority — whether it's descriptions or the way things are orchestrated within your system. For that to translate over, to be imported and shown through a digital catalog, that in and of itself is a feat, especially when you're dealing with so many items. That process has been very seamless.”
To successfully integrate DoorDash delivery, Alex has also encouraged communication and cooperation between Dashers, who shop for the order in store, and his own teams of workers. Frequent Dasher notes encourage speaking with in-house employees to gain a greater understanding of the product selection and layout. “The Dasher network, communication, and reliability were all major reasons why we decided to sign up — and we have been partners ever since.”
The customers seem to be embracing the changes as well. “People have realized the convenience of grocery delivery. We've had a lot of customers use it consistently, whether it's every week or bi-weekly.”
DoorDash has introduced a new segment of customers as well. In January 2022 — their eighth month into the partnership — 66% of their orders were from customers new to ordering from the store on DoorDash.
Steady growth in online orders
Since introducing DoorDash in July 2021, Fishers Foods has seen steady orders, averaging 300 a month, with 60% of them from DashPass customers. “I've been very happy with the results that I've seen with DoorDash so far. It's a vital piece of the ecommerce pie. I'm only seeing growth, and I think DoorDash has done a great job in helping us.”
Repeat customers are getting their orders delivered in a timely fashion. “I'm actually going to order my delivery today,” Alex says, “because it's so easy. I don't have to mess with the order, I don't have to pick anything up, it's always right.”
Top products ordered through DoorDash in the first few months were grocery staples, like low-fat milk, tortillas, and bananas. But looking towards the future, Alex wants to keep exploring his delivery options with DoorDash and is hoping to incorporate more options for his customers. “We have a lot of signature dishes that we’re known for. We're known for our chicken salad, which we hand-make. I am working with [my account manager] to make restaurant additions to our marketplace on DoorDash so people understand they can get hot food from Fishers through our deli.”
With DoorDash as a partner, he looks forward to continued growth.
