OpenDairy looks back on 2021

December 20, 2021

At OpenDairy, we don’t tend to look back a lot. And whilst we have a clear goal in mind, the road towards it is not paved. As a startup, we pivot all the time, meaning we change our approach quickly when new information dictates. Sometimes however, it’s good to take a moment to look back on the startup rollercoaster. So here it is, the OpenDairy year-end review.

“Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity, not a threat” Steve Jobs

At OpenDairy, we don’t tend to look back a lot. And whilst we have a clear goal in mind, the road towards it is not paved. As a startup, we pivot all the time, meaning we change our approach quickly when new information dictates. Sometimes however, it’s good to take a moment to look back on the startup rollercoaster. So here it is, the OpenDairy year-end review.

The trigger: “Never waste a good crisis” Winston Churchill

Our plan was clear from the beginning; start a new company and trade whatever products we could get our hands on. It’s been done before, and it could surely be done again. We didn’t pretend our business model would be any different from the other new trading ventures, typically spun-off from large trading houses in agro commodities. 

The world seemed to have other plans though. Starting a new business proved to be extremely challenging in the middle of a pandemic. The combination of risk-aversion, volatile logistics and dealing with products we didn’t have any experience with made us go off the gas and, indeed, “pivot”. 

The world was changing in front of our eyes. E-Commerce was booming, hugely accelerated by the COVID pandemic. But not only the volume grew, the level of service as well. Same day delivery, 1-hour time slots of deliveries, extended payment terms determined by algorithms, it all seemed to be available in no time. It was amazing for us to see how behavior can change, triggered by an event, a change of environment.   

The plan: “Amazing things will happen when you listen to the customer” Jonathan Midenhall

In the beginning, we didn’t really have a plan. We were just convinced there was room for improvement. We had the strong belief that sales and purchases in business should be just as easy as for consumers.  Many people found out that ordering online is more convenient and even more predictable than going to a brick-and-mortar store (is the item I need in stock?). 

Digitization is not a hobby, not a slide on a 5-year strategy deck, it’s happening now. 

We could have picked any market, but we had been working in dairy for the last 10 years. That, however, is a potential pitfall as well. You think you know it all. 

We started a thorough validation period, speaking with many different players in the dairy market. A few observations which encouraged us to move forward with the project:

  • The power of ecosystems: more than anything, we want things to simply work. The most efficient way to build a B2B platform is teaming up with partners with specific expertise. Don’t reinvent the wheel when you don’t have to.
  • The need for transparency: this is not only about knowing who your customer/supplier is, or about tracking your shipment. Consumers demand more information before making a purchase, and so do B2B buyers. How reliable is the shipping line? What is the CO2 footprint of the transaction? How sustainable is the production of a supplier? We just want to know; black boxes are no longer acceptable. 
  • Generation shift: a new generation of leaders will be in charge, typically more comfortable with online solutions and digital service. We’re moving from the “generation phone calls” to “generation whatsapp”.
  • The necessity of a full-service proposition: would you buy anything online when it’s more hassle than going to the shops? Of course not. Buyers and sellers are used to a certain level of service, provided by legacy players. A digital solution should at least match this service level to be viable at all. That’s why we’re launching with full logistics and financial services with transparent pricing. 


The rollout: “The way to get started is to quit talking and start doing” Walt Disney

Let’s do it, was the next plan. We soon realized that knowledge of a market was not enough to turn this plan into success. Building a complex marketplace requires experience and focused guidance. We got in touch with Hans, expert in digital technology and advertising. He had already seen it happen in the advertising market. Middlemen earning huge markups woke up one day in a different world where technology was making matches between supply and demand in ads. More efficient, and of course, much cheaper. 

We went out looking for a development partner and soon found Mario and Elvire of WeAreBrain. Their expertise and most of all, enthusiasm got us started. We were building software! Front end, UX, use cases, DevOps, wireframes; new terminology was fired at us with supersonic speed! We managed to roll out an early version in which producers could easily auction their “off spec” products among a group of buyers. It worked, and it worked well. 

We continued to build and are now finalizing the first release. Early 2022 the dairy market will be able to trade, supported by software and first-class service providers in logistics and finance. And it’s just the beginning. We have so many cool things on our product roadmap and great partnerships to look forward to. 

2021 has been a great year, but for OpenDairy, 2022 will be a real killer! We look forward to working with you!


Request a demo

Get a live 1:1 demo and your questions answered with one of our customer champions.

Request a demo