Uproot Food Collective scaling up their food deliveries with EasyRoutes

Operating out of a brick-and-mortar storefront with a certified manufacturing facility, all of the brands of the Uproot Food Collective share a commitment to producing quality food products. All their ingredients are locally sourced if possible, their recipes are unique and innovative, and they all follow transparent business practices.

The Collective also look for the same values reflected in the vendors whose products they stock. They have grown from selling the three original core brands to selling over 60 brands. Most of the brands are Alberta-based, but Uproot also sells products from British Columbia, Manitoba, and Ontario with new vendors being added every month.

Uproot was initially pursuing mass distribution through grocery stores when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and changed everything. It became difficult for people to shop at grocery stores and even harder to go to farmer's markets or restaurants, so the Collective decided to lean into selling online in order to provide restaurant-quality food for people to cook at home. They launched an e-commerce site, using Shopify, and it was off to the races.

While still growing their grocery and wholesale business, the Collective's focus shifted to scaling up their e-commerce and direct delivery procedures. EasyRoutes became a key piece of their delivery workflow.

EasyRoutes takes all the orders the Uproot Food Collective receives and transforms them into optimized delivery routes they can share with their drivers. It saves them 10 hours a week planning their routes, and allows them to filter and sort their orders into delivery areas. By doing the heavy lifting, it has helped the Collective to expand their delivery services outside of Edmonton.