Ecommerce has become an increasingly popular way for consumers to buy food online. It’s convenient and easy for them to do so from the comfort of their homes.
This trend is expected to continue in the future. Insider Intelligence predicts that 55% US consumers will be shopping online for groceries by 2024. This is a lot of online shoppers.
Shopify allows you to sell food online if you are a merchant on Shopify. There are many types of Shopify food stores. This post will only focus on groceries. We will cover everything you need to know about how to start and how to make it profitable.
We will also introduce you to GreenDropShip’s new Shopify app. This makes dropshipping much simpler and more efficient. It’s also the only dropshipping application that allows you to sell groceries on Shopify.
What are the Different Types of Shopify Food Stores
What does mean when we say sells food on Shopify ? It is important to be familiar with the three ways you can sell food online if you want to get into the food and beverage industry.
Selling baked or prepared goods
This is where the merchant actually makes the food, and then sells it to their Shopify store. Cottage foods are also known as cookies, cakes and other baked goods.
Cottage Food Laws exist in most states. In California, for example, it is known as the California Homemade Food Act. These laws allow you to prepare and bake certain foods at home and sell them to others, such as Shopify.
All regulations must be followed. In some cities or counties, you may need to obtain licenses or permits. Cottage food laws in most states prohibit private bakers and merchants from selling to restaurants or grocery stores.
This blog post is not about Shopify merchants who sell cottage food, but some of the same things could be applicable to them.
Selling Restaurant Food
Shopify can be used to order restaurants online. It also offers tipping and a menu.
Shopify gives restaurant owners the option to have curbside pickup or local delivery depending on their staff. This store type is growing in popularity because so many people like ordering from restaurants online.
These Shopify restaurants are completely different to the types of food stores that we’re talking about today.
Selling Groceries & Ingredients
This is where the Shopify merchant purchases regular food products from a wholesaler. You can choose to be a wholesaler who sells bulk items or a dropshipper supplier, which is a wholesaler that offers dropshipping. The merchant will pay wholesale price for groceries in either case.
This is essentially an online grocery shop that can sell everything, from flour to spices to perishables such as eggs and vegetables. You can also find ingredients to bake or prepare foods.
Online grocery sales can be very profitable, as they will triple in 2023 and account for 5% of all Ecommerce. It can also make dropshipping easier and more efficient if you have a Shopify app.
This is the Shopify type of food store we will be discussing. We’ll also go over dropshipping and the steps to follow.
Why should I sell food on Shopify?
- Groceries offer low returns because consumers only trust brands they are familiar with.
- Food is a basic human need.
- There are many niches in the food industry, such as plant-based and organic.
- Customers will return to your store if they have a positive experience.
- Groceries are a favorite of consumers because of their strong brand loyalty.
- Online stores allow you to use digital advertising , which is cheaper and more convenient.
- Shopify is easy to use: You can quickly create a functional and great-looking store.
- Shopify apps can make dropshipping easier and more efficient.
Why should I dropship?
Dropshipping is the best way to sell groceries on Shopify. Dropshipping is the fastest, most convenient, and easiest way to do this.
Dropshipping allows you to sell online without having to manage any inventory. Instead, you partner with a dropshipping provider and they handle all logistics including packing, shipping, and storage.
Many Shopify merchants believe that purchasing food in bulk and selling online is a better retail model. This is because if you purchase groceries in bulk, you are responsible for their storage. This creates logistical problems that can make the process more difficult, labor-intensive, and complicated.
Dropshipping can be a great way to start your business, especially for those just starting out. Dropshipping is a great way to sell groceries. Let’s talk about them.
There are no expiration dates to worry about
Dropshipping suppliers are responsible for inventory management and ship the goods to customers after each sale. You must place the order with your supplier and your customer must purchase groceries from Shopify. The supplier will then ship it out once that’s done. You can’t order too many bulk orders and end up with surplus.
Unsold goods can pose a risk to any retail store. But it is especially dangerous for food and grocery stores. These products have expiration dates so if they don’t sell within a specified time, you’ll be stuck with a lot of spoiled food.
A Best bydate is also available for groceries – this is the guarantee that the food will be of the highest quality. These are usually referred to as first in, first out (FIFO). Rotating food inventory is a way to ensure that older products are not pushed to the sidelines. You might need to invest in inventory control to keep track of all this.
You don’t need to spend a lot on warehouse or storage space.
You might need to spend a lot on storage space or warehouse space if you have lots of food to store. To preserve their quality and prevent spoilage, groceries must be kept at a specific temperature.
This applies to both perishables and dry goods. Dry goods need to be kept at a temperature that is stable and cool, while keeping them out of direct sunlight. Perishables must be stored at 4 degrees Celsius (39 degrees Fahrenheit) while frozen foods should be kept at 0 degrees F (-18degrees C). This will require a larger warehouse or storage area that is more expensive and must be maintained and supervised.
Food storage regulations don’t need to be a problem.
Storing food in large quantities can pose a safety risk due to contamination and potential spoilage. The laws may not be as strict if you plan to store bulk food in your own home. You will need to comply with various regulations if you have a “facility” where you store groceries for sale, such as a warehouse or rented storage area.
These regulations will differ from to, with some being more strict than others. You might also need to comply with additional regulations in your locality or county regarding food storage. You might need a special permit or business license to store bulk food.
Dropshipping takes out all the hassles. Let your supplier handle the logistics and cost of food storage. Dropshipping allows you to focus on your customers and making Shopify stores successful.
No need to fret about shipping groceries
Dropshipping suppliers don’t just store groceries, they also pack and ship them. Food requires special packaging to prevent products from leaking, shattering or spoiling. This applies to perishables and products in glass containers.
You can find the best grocery dropshipping provider for your Shopify store. They will know how to quickly and safely ship these products, ensuring that they are fresh and unspoiled. GreenDropShip, a food and drink supplier, has a unique system for shipping groceries. This includes perishables such as dry goods and glass jars and bottles.
Dropshipping is a great way to sell groceries on Shopify. It’s cheaper, simpler, and more labor-intensive, especially when you have the right food supplier. GreenDropShip, which offers dropshipping as well as bulk wholesale buying, is another option. You could also test new products and niches using the low-risk dropshipping method. If you find a product that is a hit, you can purchase in bulk and store the groceries.
How to Sell Groceries on Your Shopify Store
Dropshipping is the best way for you to sell groceries or food on Shopify. This is especially true if your business is just beginning. Dropshipping is quick, simple, and affordable. We have created a general guide to dropshipping on Shopify. This guide covers everything you need, from how to open your shop to general marketing tips.
Also, you can check out our list Top Shopify Apps in 2021. This includes GreenDropShip’s application. This is currently the only dropshipping application that allows you to sell groceries on Shopify.
This is great news as it allows you to profit from a growing Ecommerce market without the hassle and headaches of operating a traditional online store. This is the ideal time to start a Shopify grocery shop. We’ll be discussing the basics of selling groceries and food on the platform.
Select a Food & Drink Shopify theme
After you have set up Shopify, you will need to select a Shopify Theme. These templates are basically design templates. They allow you to build a store quickly and easily without any knowledge of coding or web design. This is the best thing about Shopify: it’s easy to create a professional-looking, sleek store right away.
Shopify offers themes specifically designed for the Food & Drink area. Some of these themes are even free! While some of these themes are best suited for selling home-baked goods or cottage food, others are great for selling grocery brands.
Design plays an important role in this. We’ve created a comprehensive guide to Shopify design so you can understand how it impacts user experience as well as your brand identity. If you are selling groceries in the organic or natural niche, you will need an “earthy theme”. This is usually natural or earth tones in particular, including various shades of green.
These are some great themes to sell food on Shopify:
These themes are especially good for natural, organic, specialty or gourmet products. All of these themes are compatible with desktop and mobile devices, which is even more important because people love to shop on their smartphones.
You can also choose a third-party Shopify theme. However, these themes are not always guaranteed to work with Shopify apps.
Select a name to your Shopify grocery store
It is also important to choose a storename that matches your brand identity and store design. You should ask yourself the following question: What is my customer’s first impression? How can I grab their attention immediately?
You don’t have to choose My Shopify Food Store. It is boring and uninteresting. Instead, you can come up with something catchy and memorable that conveys some information about your online grocery shop. These business name generators can help you brainstorm name ideas.
- Shopify’s Business name generator
- Truic’s Food & Grocery Store Name Generator
- BNG’s Food & Grocery Store Name Generator
For more ideas, you can also check out this list of words or phrases:
- Global
- Gourmet
- Organic
- Emporium
- Yummmm!
- Delicious
- Premium
- Nature
- Delivery
- To Your Door
- Fresh
Your name can be used to personalize your Shopify food store. You could say Delilah’s Fresh Marketplace, Sam’s Food Emporium. The name could also reflect a niche, such as Delilah’s Vegan Market or Sam’s Coffee Emporium.
Dropshipping suppliers for groceries
This is an important decision: choosing the right food dropshipping provider can make a huge difference to your Shopify store. They must offer a low membership fee and offer a wide range of wholesale groceries. This can be more difficult than you think. We have a blog post on how Shopify dropsshipping suppliers.
The supplier must integrate with Shopify. Otherwise, you may be forced to add products one-by-one to your store inventory. Dropshipping is effectively dead. You’ll be spending all your time managing inventory, and your efficiency will drop to zero. It’s great if the supplier has an app on Shopify. This makes it easier to sell groceries.
You must also ensure that they are a dropshipping supplier, not a wholesaler of food. You will need to check their website, or contact them directly. It will surprise you to find out that many well-known suppliers, such as Oberlo and AliExpress don’t dropship groceries.
GreenDropShip is the best choice if you want to sell food on Shopify. We are a premium dropshipping provider and wholesaler of groceries
- Focus on natural, organic, gourmet and specialty products. Most of these products are made in the USA.
- A new dropshipping application is available. It’s the only Shopify app that allows you to sell groceries.
- Shopify Full Integration with Shopify even without the app (via our Product Feeds).
Pick your grocery niche
Finding the right niche for dropshipping is key to building a Shopify grocery store that’s successful is . There are many niches in the food industry. These additional benefits are just the beginning.
- Focus on the part of the market that has less competition or saturation
- You will be viewed by your customers as an expert. This allows you to offer better user experiences.
- It doesn’t mean you have to compete against the vast array of retail giants such as Amazon.
- Consumers will pay more if you sell organic or specialty groceries.
- A selection can be curated to target a particular group.
You have the option to try something broad like trends and vegan foods or something more specific such as yerba mate. They both appeal to health and fitness enthusiasts, so there may be overlap. Another popular niche for dropshipping in natural and organic food is keto products and Stevia products.
Make sure to target the underserved and underrepresented markets when choosing your niche. We have compiled a guide to help you find popular food trends that you can dropship. This allows you to identify hidden niches and tap into new trends.
You can also find other resources, especially for organic and natural foods. Whole Foods publishes a list of the 10 top food trends each year. It’s a leading publication in organic and natural groceries.
Use epic product descriptions to engage customers
Shopify merchants shouldn’t underestimate the power and importance of an epic product description. This is your chance grab the customer’s attention and to tap into their sense of connection with the product. Imagine seeing an advertisement that makes you want to eat a particular food or drink. It’s always designed with your senses in mind. Shopify stores are more difficult because the customer can’t touch or smell the product.
You can also use our food and beverage product descriptions template to grab the attention of the customer. You can think of it as a fancy restaurant menu. The descriptive words used to describe the food will evoke the experience of eating the food. You should also make your product description original – not just copying and pasting the dropshipping supplier’s description.
There are three main characteristics to be aware of when writing descriptions for food products:
- Aroma. Aroma.
- Taste. Words such as spicy, sweet, sour or tangy.
- Texture. Words like moist, decadent, savory, or rich.
You should also describe the experience the product will give the consumer, not just what it will do. Also, make sure the product description is specific to your niche. If the product is natural, organic, gourmet, etc., you should clearly state this.
When selling groceries, be sure to list the size, quantity, or amount. If it is a 1 lb (16 oz) coffee bag, make sure to clearly state this. Other information such as whether the beans were whole or ground, where they came from and what roast type they are (dark, medium, or light) should be included.
Include food certifications & badges
This is particularly important when selling groceries online. These products will be consumed by people, or given to loved ones. They need to feel safe and secure with you.
Each product description should contain the appropriate certifications or badges, either in a graphic or in the text. You can either use the standard logo (such as the USDA Organic seal), or create your own badges to fit your brand and store design.
To increase sales, market your food store
You can increase sales at your Shopify store by properly marketing yourself. This complete dropshipping marketing guide might prove to be very useful. This guide covers all aspects of marketing that will work for any Shopify store, even an online grocery store.
Let’s take a look at other marketing strategies.
- Storytelling. Your customers will respond better to personal touches in your store.
- Blog. If you sell ingredients, your posts could include recipes or food trends.
- Reviews. Reviewers expect to see reviews. Make sure you use Shopify Reviews apps.
- Cross-sell and upsell. These Shopify upsell applications will increase the average order value .
- Run Ads. Spend the money on a Facebook Ads, or Google Ads campaign.
- Get emails. To get emails, design your landing page and use them to market.
Shopify: Top Groceries to Sell
These are the top-selling Amazon groceries. They are all carried by GreenDropShip and you can sell them on Shopify with or without our dropshipping application! It’s the only Dropshipping App on Shopify that allows you to sell groceries, at least for now.
Silk Plant-Based Milks
Silk, a brand that specializes in plant-based milks, is leading the charge. They are the most well-known company, and they are the best-tasting, smooth-smooth, plant-based milk. GreenDropShip offers many flavors and types of cashew and soymilks.
- Check out our blog post: Food Trends To Follow: Plant-Based Milks
- Non-GMO, Vegan and Dairy-Free.
- Amazon has over 8,500 reviews with an average rating 4.8 stars
- Amazon’s Choice Certified
- GreenDropShip Wholesale Prices: $3.50 per 64 oz
- Average retail price: $4.99
El Mexicano Casero Queso Fresco
El Mexicano is a popular brand in Hispanic households. This is their “flagship cheese”. Soft and moist, this cheese is traditionally made from whole milk, sea salt and the best natural ingredients. This is the original, with its creamy texture combined with a salty flavor that goes perfectly with authentic Mexican food.
- GreenDropShip has a variety of Mexican and Hispanic brands
- Halal-Certified, Gluten-Free, Real California Milk Certified
- Whole milk from cows that have not been treated with rBST
- Amazon currently does not have this product!
- GreenDropShip Wholesale Prices: $3.36 per 10 oz
- Average retail price: $4.99
Eggland’s Best Eggs Grade Large Brown Eggs
Eggland’s best is the best when it comes to premium cage-free eggs. Eggland’s Best is loved by consumers for their care and kindness to their chickens. They let them run free in the sun and don’t keep them in cages. They are made locally in the USA and quickly shipped to retailers or suppliers.
- GreenDropShip offers Cage-Free and Organic Cage-Free shipping on a regular basis
- All-Natural, All-Vegetarian Feeds for Hens
- Amazon has over 4,500 reviews with an average rating 4.8 stars
- GreenDropShip Wholesale Prices: $2.90 Regular & $4.07 Organic
- Average Retail Price: $5.39 for Organic & $3.89 for Regular
Wild Planet Alaska Pink Salmon
Wild Planet is a company that has a simple mission: to provide wild-caught canned seafood. Local fishermen and their families fish for wild Alaska Pink Salmon, and wild Sockeye Salmon in Alaska’s icy waters.
GreenDropShip also offers a variety of Wild Planet products including wild caught Tuna and Albacore Tuna as well as Skipjack Tuna and Mackerel as well as canned organic poultry.
- Wild salmon skinless and boneless with all natural juices
- Alaska sustainably fished
- Amazon average rating: 4.7 stars
- Amazon’s Choice Certified
- GreenDropShip Wholesale Price $4.52 per 6 oz. can
- Average Retail Price: $5.39 for 6 oz can
Tillamook Medium Cheese Cheddar Cheese 5 Pound Loaf
Tillamook is a household name, and their cheddar is a favorite! It is a perfect combination of salty bite and velvety texture. It will make your taste buds dance! GreenDropShip also offers the fiery and spicy Pepper Jack in a 5-pound loaf.
- Only four ingredients used and at least 60 days old
- From cows that have not been treated with rBST
- Amazon is not available
- GreenDropShip Wholesale Prices: $24.67 per 5 lb
- Average Retail Price: $33.10 per 5 lb
Guayaki Organic Yerba Mate
Guayaki is the most well-known brand of yerbamate, an old caffeinated drink from the Amazon rainforests. This is a popular choice for eco-conscious, hip and health-conscious consumers. It works closely with local communities to ensure that the crops are grown sustainably, and they receive fair compensation for their incredible work.
- Organic, Fair-Trade and Gluten-Free.
- GreenDropShip offers flavors such as blueberry, lemon and berry.
- Amazon average rating of 4.6 stars
- GreenDropShip Wholesale Price: $2.05 Per 16 Oz Can (for all flavors)
- Average Retail Price: $2.99 per 16 oz can
Bulletproof Medium Roast Whole Bean Coffee
Bulletproof Coffee is bold, bold, and bright. Bulletproof Coffee is highly sought after by its loyal following of coffee drinkers.
- Take a look at our blog post Coffee Dropshippers
- Certified Clean Rainforest Alliance Certified
- Amazon average rating of 4.6 stars
- Amazon’s Choice Certified
- GreenDropShip Wholesale Prices: $9.99 per 12 oz
- Average retail price: $14.99
Lakanto Sugar-Free Monkfruit Baking Sugarener
This is the best sugar substitute. This will allow you to achieve all your health and fitness goals while still maintaining a trim body. You can also sweeten all your baked goods as much as you like. It works just like regular sugar in baking. It dissolves quickly and caramelizes the perfect brown color.
- This works for Paleo, Keto, Vegan, Low-Sugar and All-Natural diets
- Non-GMO Project Verified, Sugar-Free (Made With Erythritol).
- Amazon has nearly 70,000 reviews with an average rating of 4.7 stars
- Amazon’s Choice Certified
- GreenDropShip Wholesale Prices: $8.97 per 16 oz
- Average retail price: $13.99
Crepini Egg Thins with Cauliflower
This wrap is unique because it has zero net carbs! You can enjoy your favorite sweet and savory fixings without any added sugar. These Egg Thins can be prepared in a variety of ways.
- Kosher, Dairy Free, Grain-Free and Gluten-Free.
- Zero net carbs – Ideal for Paleo or Keto diets
- Average rating of 4.7 stars
- GreenDropShip Wholesale Prices: $3.49 per 2.26 oz
- Average retail price: $5.99
Good God Choco Hazel with Stevia Spread
Are you looking for a healthy way to enjoy chocolatey goodness? Choco Hazel by Good God is the perfect option! It’s not only delicious, it’s amazing! This sweet spread, which is Belgian-style, is rich, sinful, and free of added sugar. Keep healthy and happy!
- Made with Stevia, Hazelnut and Hazelnut
- Vegan and 100% Natural
- Amazon has almost 2,000 reviews with an average rating of 4.5 stars
- GreenDropShip Wholesale Prices: $4.64 per 12 oz
- Average retail price: $9.99
Spice Hunter 100% Organic Italian Seasoning
The Spice Hunter is the best herbs and spices company. These bad boys are essential for any serious chef or kitchen. Their Italian Seasoning Blend is 100% Organic and 100 Percent Delicious, based on long-standing culinary tradition.
- Our blog post Top Wholesale Spices to Sell Online
- Kosher, Salt-Free, and Sugar-Free
- Amazon is not available
- GreenDropShip Wholesale Prices: $3.39 per 0.4 Oz
- Average retail price: $4.99
