Updated 06:13 AM EDT, Tue, Mar 19, 2024

How Chilean Startup Company Algramo Plans to Decrease Food Prices in Poor Latin America Communities

  • +
  • -
  • Sign up to receive the lastest news from LATINONE

A Chilean startup company hopes to bring cheaper meals and food items to poor residents in Latin America.

Alagramo, born through the genius mind of entrepreneur Jose Manuel Moller, is hoping to cut the spending on the packaging and marketing of big supermarkets in its home country Chile, Forbes reported.

The plan is to eventually do the same in other countries in South America.

Moller claimed that his company is also offering what big chain supermarkets are offering but is utilizing big vending machines, which bring out the products in disposable plastic containers.

He told Forbes that they initially located their vending machines in Santiago, where the poor population in Chile is residing.

As they continue with their business services, the company noted that they eventually want to provide a good quality of food to poverty-stricken areas which really do not have access to food because deliveries do not reach their location.

It was also mentioned in the Forbes report that Alagramo has already established 450 vending machines in Chile by the end of last year.

"Some brands won't supply food to the districts that Algramo services, they're deemed too dangerous, and much of Alagramo's mission is to give the poorest families in Chile access to good-quality food," Moller told Forbes.

He also shared that they have already established good relations with the poor communities in Chile and are focused on helping them have access to a variety of food items.

A similar 24Oras.CL report discussed that Moller's idea with the vending machines was for people to purchase reusable containers which will reduce the cost of products by as much as 40 percent.

A detailed explanation on the company's website discussed that the reusable packaging will enable buyers to avoid paying tax.

Aside from saving on this tax payment, trash will also be reduced, thus making the company more environmentally friendly.

It was added that Alagramo's system involves two formats of retailing food items. One is through self-service where buyers can just buy items straight from a vending machine and pay for the specific weight of the products.

The other option is buying an empty container and exchanging it with another that is filled with the food items one wants to buy in a grocery store. 

The brains behind this idea said in the same report that it was hard at first to gain the trust and acceptance of the people but noted that they were still able to attain their aim.

"The [idea] was to change the mentality instilled in people that if it's cheap, it is bad," Moller told 24Oras.CL.

© 2015 Latin One. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
  • Sign up to receive the lastest news from LATINONE
Close

Curiosidades

Real Time Analytics