No Cashiers, No Middlemen: How WhatsApp Groups Deliver Produce Directly from Farmers

At one of the distribution points in the center of the country, residents of the neighborhood stop one after another, collecting a bag or crate prepared for them in advance. One came to pick up cheeses from a small dairy, another ordered cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and flowers from a family farm. There are no shelves, no self-service checkouts, and no daily changing promotions. They placed their order a few days earlier in a WhatsApp group, and payment was transferred before the goods arrived.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, a small retail channel has been growing alongside food chains — direct agriculture. It works through community purchasing groups that connect small farmers and food producers directly with consumers. Sometimes it involves a small number of households, and in other cases, an entire neighborhood or town where hundreds of families order together. The produce is concentrated for consumers at a single distribution point, and the producer arrives there at a set time.

For consumers, the attraction to direct agriculture is clear: freshness, familiarity with the source of the food, and usually a lower price. For farmers, it is an attempt to keep a larger portion of the proceeds for themselves, instead of passing the produce along a chain of marketers, distributors, and retailers — who take dozens of percent in various brokerage commissions. But above all, the model is based on something hard to measure: trust.

The COVID-19 period provided the initial push for the direct agriculture and purchasing group sector. The second boost came after October 7, 2023, when the Israeli public mobilized together to support buying produce from farmers in the Gaza envelope first, and then from the entire agricultural sector.

Noam Braun, 25, from Beit Dagan, is the second generation at Braun Dairies, a family boutique dairy operating from Kfar Yarok. After his military service and a year in high-tech, he realized that path was not for him. Today, he is responsible for the purchasing groups, the store, and direct sales, alongside working at the dairy.

From a single building to an entire neighborhood

Activity expanded gradually. Today, there are distribution points serving entire neighborhoods. The dairy delivers to Ra'anana, Ness Ziona, Holon, Ramat HaSharon, Be'er Sheva, and Meitar, offering about 150 products in ten categories. The average shopping basket is about 70 shekels. "People tell me they stopped buying cheeses at the supermarket and switched to ordering from us," says Braun. "Some do it because they want fewer preservatives, and some simply because of the taste."

Price is also part of the deal. Braun estimates that direct sales can save the consumer about 10%-20% on the bottom line. For example, halloumi cheese is sold directly for about 6.90 shekels per 100 grams (with a planned rise to 7.90 shekels), compared to about 11.90 shekels for equivalent products in the supermarket.

The granddaughter led the move

Avraham Daniel, who established a farm in Moshav Sde Yitzhak in 1973, now grows flowers and vegetables on 40 dunams. The turn to the end consumer was led by his granddaughter, 25-year-old Omer Daniel. The economic significance for the farmer is great: in direct sales, brokerage gaps that can reach 30%-40% remain on the farm. While this requires packaging, logistics, and order management, when the farm concentrates enough customers, the model is more profitable than selling to a wholesaler. According to the Daniel farm, purchasing groups account for about 60% of total activity.

A 2 billion shekel market

"The vision of the Ministry of Agriculture is that in the near future, people will switch to direct purchasing from farmers through a unified technological platform," explains Natalie Brodner-Mor, Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. "We are encouraging direct purchasing through a variety of initiatives, from the 'Golan Basket' to fresh produce markets established across the country."

According to ministry estimates, direct sales account for up to 5% of agricultural produce marketing in Israel. Given that the output value of local agricultural produce in 2024 stood at 37.9 billion shekels, the direct purchasing market is estimated at just under 2 billion shekels a year.

Volunteers came to help

Direct marketing gained additional meaning for the Daniel farm after October 7. Due to a labor shortage, dozens of volunteers came to help daily, and customer groups became a way to maintain agricultural activity. There is also growing interest in organic food: Tamar Eisenberg from the "Farmers" platform notes that customers want to know who grew the food and how, and the vast majority of farms working with the platform are organic.