“Who grew these apples?” “How was this rice cultivated?”

At the supermarket, today’s consumers look beyond the product itself—they pay close attention to the farmer and the farming methods behind it. We’ve entered a time when even produce must stand as a brand. Competing on price or appearance alone is no longer enough.

Supporting Farmers is a D2C brand that sources high-quality produce and delivers it directly to consumers. From apple farmers in Sangju, Gyeongbuk to carrot growers in the fields of Jeju, the brand shares each farm’s story and philosophy alongside its products—offering food that customers can truly trust. By combining commerce strategy, branding, and data-driven marketing, Supporting Farmers has built a dedicated fan base around its online store and boosted conversion rates with seasonal product placement strategies.

So how is Supporting Farmers reshaping the traditional produce market with its D2C model and distinctive product merchandising?

Hear from Supporting Farmers directly! (enable CC for English subtitles)

Produce Becomes a Brand: Supporting Farmers’s D2C Innovation

Q The name Supporting Farmers gives a clear sense of what the service is about. Could you explain how you distribute your produce?

“Good produce ultimately creates good consumers.”

Supporting Farmers is more than just a seller of produce—it’s a D2C food e-commerce brand dedicated to sharing the true value of farming and the philosophy of its producers with customers. By working closely with local farms, we cut out unnecessary steps from production to distribution to consumption, focusing on price transparency and building trust in quality. Our mission is to showcase good produce the right way and create a system where it naturally translates into better, more meaningful consumption.

Q. What problem is Supporting Farmers trying to solve?

As demand for food safety and transparency continues to rise, we’ve built our service to directly address those concerns. Beyond just listing product details, we disclose production histories, farmer profiles, and cultivation practices. We also create visual content that highlights each product’s unique qualities and flavors, paired with recipe videos that show how it can be enjoyed—giving customers a richer and more engaging experience.

We believe this kind of content is far more powerful in building trust and long-term loyalty than in simply driving short-term conversions.

Q. Through which channels do Supporting Famers sell its produce?

Our business is primarily built around our own online store, while also selling through platforms like Naver Smart Store, Coupang, and 11st—major open markets in Korea. We use these marketplaces mainly as channels for traffic and brand exposure, while our own store serves as the hub for data-driven, personalized marketing. More recently, we’ve also been experimenting with a B2B2C group-buying model. Ultimately, our store remains the center of all marketing and analysis, where we leverage customer behavior data to continuously refine both content and communication.

Q. Who are your main customers, and how do you build relationships with them?

At first, we targeted a wide range of customer groups, but over time we found that seniors in their 40s to 60s showed the highest repurchase rates and cart sizes. While this user segment is price-sensitive, once trust in quality and service is established, they display very strong loyalty. That’s why we place trust at the center of our brand, with quality, price competitiveness, and fast VoC (voice of customer) response as our core values.

Fresh produce is an especially sensitive category, which makes not only product quality but also response speed and issue resolution critical. Together with our CS team, we analyze customer feedback, refine response protocols, and continuously improve our service operations.

From Repeat Purchases to True Loyalty: The Power of CRM

Q. How do you design your communication to build trust with customers?

At Supporting Farmers, our focus goes beyond sales—we aim to build long-term, trust-based relationships. We connect with customers through various channels, including recipe content inspired by customer reviews, social media sharing, and community engagement. In particular, we prioritize platforms where our target audience is most active—such as Kakao Band^* online communities, and KakaoTalk channels^**—so the brand becomes a natural part of their everyday lives.

*Kakao Band: A community platform within the KakaoTalk messenger app.
**KakaoTalk Channels: Official brand-owned messaging channels on KakaoTalk.

Q. Running a community isn’t typical for food brands. What led you to focus on Kakao Band?

From day one, we knew trust begins with conversations—that’s why we leaned into community-driven growth. Band quickly became a hub for group purchases, where authentic customer reviews and referrals boosted its influence. To this day, our organic word-of-mouth and much of our purchasing activity still flow through the community.

Q. Supporting Farmers is known not only for its high repurchase rate but also for its strong customer loyalty. What’s the strategy behind that?

Food is a category with short purchase cycles, where repeat purchases depend heavily on customer satisfaction. This is why we see the precision of CRM strategy as essential to success. Our approach is grounded in a simple principle: deliver the right product at the right time. To support this, we’ve continuously refined a personalization system driven by customer data.

For instance, we’ve designed an automated system that sends messages at precisely the right moment, using signals like purchase intervals, previously bought categories, and seasonal preferences. As a result, customers naturally feel they’re receiving messages exactly when they need them.

Data-Powered CRM: Transforming the Customer Experience

Q. When and how did Supporting Farmers realize the importance of data and CRM?

In the brand’s early days, our focus was primarily on product quality and price competitiveness. But once our customer base grew beyond 2M, it became clear that conversion and repurchase rates were the true engines of growth. Initially, we managed data collection and analysis in-house, but as the workload intensified, it was clear we needed a more structured CRM solution.

That was when we adopted Datarize and built a comprehensive CRM framework. Since then, decisions driven by key metrics—such as conversion, message response, and repurchase rates—have become part of our daily operations. Today, a culture of data-driven meetings and decision-making is deeply embedded across the company.

Q. Is there a CRM campaign that stood out for Supporting Farmers?

One of the most notable was a reminder campaign targeting customers one to two weeks after purchase. We segmented non-returning customers and sent them automated, tailored messages, which led to a significant lift in conversion rates.

Instead of overloading the messages, we kept them simple—focused on seasonal items or related products that customers were most likely to enjoy. The key was making customers feel, “they’re only showing me things I’d genuinely want.”

Q. How is your CRM strategy being executed today?

Our approach is built around structured, performance-driven operations. For example, we differentiate messaging by customer segment—sending retention messages to those with low churn risk and “last-chance” offers to those with high churn risk.

Currently, we use Datarize’s automation features to maintain a 7:3 split between low-risk and high-risk groups, delivering customized messages to each.

Q. How do you approach personalized marketing by user segment? 

We deliver automated recommendations tailored to each customer, drawing on data such as purchase cycles, cart history, recent purchases, and seasonal trends. For instance, a customer who buys peaches might also see recommendations for other seasonal fruits like plums or blueberries, along with recipe ideas that feature those ingredients.

We don’t aim for one-way marketing—we strive for communication that blends seamlessly into customers’ everyday lives. Our own online store makes this possible, acting as the core hub for all personalization.

Enhancing Customer Experience Through Merchandising and Online Store Strategy

Q. What is Supporting Farmers’s strategy for product display and assortment?

Seasonal curation is at the heart of our strategy. It ensures customers can quickly find what they’re looking for, at the right time, and at a fair price. Instead of simply filling the shelf with discounts, we emphasize higher-quality products compared to our competitors —presented with timely relevance.

Our planning is data-driven from the sourcing stage. We continuously monitor real-time sales trends and customer feedback to quickly optimize displays around high-conversion product groups. For example, if sales of a particular item suddenly surge, we highlight it in the main display area and pair it with related recommendations—naturally increasing the average cart size per customer.

Q. How do you improve the UI/UX of your online store?

We regularly enhance our UI/UX based on customer feedback. The CS team reviews reported issues on a weekly basis, which are then incorporated into updates, with functional improvements released at least once a month. For instance, after repeated customer requests, we introduced a feature that lets shoppers save preferred items in their cart and check out as a bundle. We also upgraded the checkout interface to ensure that key product details are clearly presented at the final stage of purchase.

To keep this rapid feedback loop, our CS, service, MD, and sales teams work very closely together. This collaboration allows us to quickly identify customer pain points, resolve them effectively, and directly connect improvements to sales growth. The speed and agility of this process are benefits unique to managing our own online store.

Q. Why do you stick to a strategy centered around your own online store?

Open markets are useful for acquisition and branding, but heavy reliance on them makes business stability vulnerable to shifts in platform policies or conditions, which can directly impact revenue.

That’s why Supporting Farmers has consistently maintained a strategy centered on its own online store. Running our own store lets us capture customer data firsthand and analyze marketing efficiency with precision—making it essential for both growth and sophistication. It also gives us far greater flexibility in areas such as pricing and customer experience management.

Although we continue selling through open markets, we find our own store to be much stronger when it comes to profitability and nurturing customer relationships. To reinforce this, we’ve organized specialized in-house teams dedicated to building and refining our store strategies.

Q. How do you retain customers who come in through ads or promotions and settle them into your own store?

We bring in customers through channels such as social media, search ads, and YouTube content. Once in our store, they’re welcomed with first-purchase messages, discount coupons, and personalized recommendations that encourage a smooth transition into repeat buying. Our focus goes beyond acquisition—we aim to build lasting relationships that convert new visitors into loyal customers.

Q. What strategies have you used to re-engage cart abandoners or one-time buyers?

We leverage Datarize to send automated messages when customers abandon their carts, and follow up with reminder content, coupons, or group-buying offers for those who haven’t repurchased within a set period. Our aim isn’t simply to prompt repeat purchases, but to consistently provide customers with reasons to stay engaged with the brand.

CRM Automation: Balancing Efficiency and Precision

Q. What led you to adopt Datarize?

As our customer base expanded rapidly, it became clear that our internal team could no longer manage campaigns, process data, and design messages manually. Around one to two years ago, we recognized the growing importance of CRM automation and data-driven marketing. After evaluating several solutions, we selected Datarize for its flexible segmentation and robust funnel analysis capabilities.

Q. How has your marketing operation changed since adopting Datarize?

The biggest change has been in our organizational structure. We clearly separated responsibilities between the team focused on new customer acquisition and the team managing existing customers, allowing each to concentrate on its core work. Tasks that were previously handled manually—such as data extraction, message scheduling, and reporting—are now fully automated within a single platform, significantly improving both speed and accuracy. Collaboration among the marketing, CRM, and analytics teams has also become much smoother.

Q. What criteria and data do you use to segment customers?

We manage dynamic segments by combining multiple factors such as purchase timing, churn risk, engagement level, and product categories. For example, customers who abandon items in their cart automatically receive cart reminder messages, while high-value repeat customers are sent early-access invitations. In particular, Datarize’s visit and purchase segmentation has been highly effective in reducing churn and increasing repurchase rates.

Q. Which automation campaign has delivered the best results?

Most of our automated campaigns have performed well, but two stand out:

1. Interest-based product recommendations: Analyzing each customer’s browsing and purchase history to suggest related products.

2. Interest-based discount alerts: Automatically sending promotions for categories where customers have shown interest.

Both campaigns achieved outstanding results, with conversion rates rising by double digits compared to standard messages. We’re now expanding into “hyper-personalization,” tailoring not only the content but also the timing and channels of delivery.

Q. What advice would you give to food e-commerce brands considering Datarize?

If resources are tight, avoid depending on bulk messaging alone. Instead, move quickly to CRM automation. Datarize helps eliminate repetitive work, sharpen segmentation, and maximize marketing efficiency. Early adoption means faster, measurable results.

More Than Numbers: Supporting Farmers’s Growth Formula

“The secret to brand growth isn’t just volume, but deeper relationships.”

Q. Where is your CRM and marketing strategy headed next?

So far, Supporting Farmers has consistently strengthened its CRM strategy with a focus on customer data. Our next focus is advancing personalization even further. We still see room to refine our analysis of customer preferences and purchase patterns, and to deliver messages and product recommendations that feel even more precisely tailored.

Our goal is to make the online store experience feel less like receiving generic offers and more like personalized recommendations. To achieve this, we plan to broaden our segmentation criteria and ensure that CRM messaging integrates seamlessly with the overall store experience.

I’d also highlight for food e-commerce brands considering Datarize, that Datarize is more than just a marketing tool—it’s a strategic partner that helps reduce internal workloads while supporting long-term customer relationships. For us, where distribution and merchandising are critical, automating CRM with Datarize has freed us from repetitive tasks and enabled greater focus on essential marketing strategy.

Ultimately, growth isn’t about how many customers you have, but how deep your relationships are. We hope more brands recognize this truth, and that Datarize can continue to play a larger role in helping them achieve it.