[Food] Brand Scaling Up That Began with a Fruit Funding Campaign

There are people around us who can’t just pass by something good without noticing it. They recommend it to close friends and spread the word by word of mouth. And here, there’s a maker who promotes fruit with guaranteed trust and quality through funding, hoping to spread the stories of great farms and their technology even further. To date, they’ve connected approximately 16,000 supporters with farmers and even raised 200 million won in funding for strawberries alone. Discover the story of this maker—who has taken it upon themselves to serve as a reliable bridge between producers and consumers—and learn the secrets behind their success.

We deliver the sweat and hard work of farmers from all across the country
just as they are

Hello. Weare Biple, a company dedicated to discovering and introducing high-quality food products infused with the care of nature and our producers. We are constantly exploring ways to deliver food grown by excellent farms across the country directly to consumers, bypassing middlemen. Currently, on wadiz, we are showcasing a variety of seasonal fruits and vegetables under the brand name “Berry Berry Single.”

At first, we tried launching our business with various types of food products. Then one day, a family member of one of our founding members—who had experience growing fruit—gave us the opportunity to taste fruit that had been carefully selected to meet specific standards. We had assumed that most fruits would taste pretty much the same, but after tasting that carefully selected fruit, our perspective completely changed. So we conducted a test sale on an online marketplace, and since consumers responded positively at the time, we decided to launch the business in earnest.

Prioritizing Trust and Quality
We Personally Source Excellent Farms

Beple’s core principle is to deliver fruits and vegetables harvested from farms to consumers on the same day. As a result, the most important factor for us is finding the “farms” that can provide high-quality produce.To find thesefarms ,Beple’s merchandisers go out into the field to scout them out in person. If a farm is deemed suitable for sourcing, we visit it at least three times before signing a contract and conduct in-depth investigations into the farmers’ cultivation methods and farm operations.

Among these factors, we believe that what builds consumer trust in a farm is its “expertise.” Therefore, we look for farms that hold eco-friendly or organic certifications, or—even if they don’t—have indicators that guarantee basic quality. 

Of course, the taste and quality of the products are our top priorities. After all, “taste” is the most important factor in winning over consumers.We review the farmers’past harvest records and conduct numerical tests to verify that the fruit meets a certain Brix level—that is, a minimum sugar content—when we actually sort it.

A funding system that allows us to estimate harvest yields in advance
has created an environment conducive to growing high-quality produce

The main reason Beple decided to pursue funding was our belief that the “pre-order, then-produce” systemwould greatly help farmers maintain high quality. Typically, when farmers sell the crops they’ve worked hard to grow for a year to wholesalers, they always feel a sense of regret and anxiety about not receiving fair compensation.

But with funding, they can predict how much they need to harvest. Based on their extensive experience, farmers can get a rough sense of “how much marketable produce they can expect to harvest at a given time of year.” By coordinating the funding timing to ensure a stable harvest environment, supporters can receive seasonal products at the right time, and farmers can harvest a set quantity at a price agreed upon in advance.

That’s why we’ve run over 50 funding campaigns so far featuring fruits and vegetables from various farms. The standout project among them was “Kingsberry Strawberries,” which raised a cumulative total of approximately 200 million won. Certain fruitsare popular during specific seasons ,just like Just like how people always eat watermelon or peaches in the summer. A fruit’s marketability comes down to one of two things: it’s either a consistently popular item during a specific season, or it’s a novel fruit not commonly found elsewhere.

In both respects, Kingsberry Strawberries were a product that people always seek out in winter, while also offering a special experience thanks to their unusual size. I believe the funding was successfully concluded because it perfectly aligned with the needs of wadiz supporters seeking something new during the season when demand for strawberries peaks.

For the sustainable growth of successful makers
wadiz NEXT BRAND

After achieving great results with the Kingsberry Strawberry project, something even more special happened this year. It was wadiz’s “NEXT BRAND Cohort 1”. When we heard that wadiz’s “NEXT BRAND” program provides full support to makers who have successfully completed funding for their projects, we decided to apply, believing it would be an opportunity for our brand to take the next step forward.

Rather than being difficult, I think the review process had more positive aspects. Unlike meeting general investors, I felt communication went smoothly—perhaps because we were comfortable sharing Biple’s story with wadiz, a team we’d worked closely with and who knew us well. It was also very helpful that they recognized our growth potential and pointed out areas for improvement and future direction. We had high hopes, and I remember how happy everyone was internally when we heard the news that we’d been selected.

After being selected for the first cohort, we attended the NEXT BRAND Showcase held last June. In addition to our own food business, we heard business stories from various makers in fields like fashion, general merchandise, and classes, and met with wadiz stakeholders—both internal and external—to discuss potential future collaborations. It was a time that broadened our business perspective in many ways, and it made me feel like we need to work even harder. (Laughs)

We were guaranteed opportunities for growth
and we were able to drive new sales

There are so many places that handle and sell fruit. So, it’s easy to end up as just another run-of-the-mill brand. However, we’ve set our point of differentiation by developing and digitizing processes to ensure the journey from the farm—where the produce is freshly harvested—to the consumer is as stable as possible.Sourcing good products is obviously important, but they only have real value if we can deliver them intact. 

In fact, we set a course to improve the distribution process by, for example, attaching sensors to shipping boxes for testing and collecting the resulting data to build a systematic approach. I believe these efforts set Beple apart as a brand with unique growth potential within the NEXT BRAND Program, and ultimately led to our selection as part of the first cohort.

What I realized while participating in the first cohort was that the NEXT BRAND program guaranteed us opportunities for growth. wadiz continuously offers valuable suggestions to help makers make the most of the various services available on the platform. This is why we were able to achieve much better results in terms of brand sales and recognition compared to when we used wadiz on our own.

For example, during this Chuseok season, Biple launched Shine Muscat on the wadiz Store. As a NEXT BRAND, wadiz provided significant marketing support, which helped drive high sales. Additionally, as an offline benefit, we held a Biple-exclusive exhibition last month at the wadiz space in Seongsu-dong. We held the exhibition under the theme “Discover Your Personal Color Through Fruit,” incorporating the concept of personal color—which is familiar to the MZ generation—into fruit. At the same time, we ran an outdoor market where visitors could taste our fruits and purchase them on the spot.

By expanding our sales channels from online to offline in this way , we naturally generated new revenue and had the opportunity to meet a diverse range of supporters. In other words, it served as a springboard for our brand to take the next step in its growth . I’d like to encourage all makers who have experienced successful funding to definitely take advantage of this opportunity through wadiz NEXT BRAND.

May the fusion of fruit and tech
a natural part of everyday life

Moving forward, we plan to continue deepening our understanding of the unique characteristics of agricultural products while simultaneously conducting R&D to innovate the distribution process between farmers and customers. We’ll always be asking ourselves , “Is there anything that needs improvement in the process of purchasing and receiving fruit?”We’ll keep striving toward the goal of creating a unique fusion of fruit and tech—something only Beple can achieve—and the everyday life that will change as a result, so please continue to show us your support and cheer as you have been. 

Written by Han Ji-hye
▶ This content was first featured on the wadiz blog. If you’re curious about more stories from the blog, click!