Page 44 - November 2021 IB FINAL

Business Business

Octavia and Gabriel Sharma about to set out from their home on a delivery
JUST DROP IT!

By Jason Jett So, we adapted and started advertising market runs for
fresh produce, grocery deliveries and food pick-ups from
The pandemic may have forever changed the way people restaurants.”
shop. As COVID-19 caused a sharp economic downturn in While they now discern an uptick in the local economy, the
travel-related industries, home-delivery services boomed and continued growth of their business indicates shopping habits
are continuing to be vital. have changed and people find delivery services a welcome
During lockdowns and containment zones in Fiji, numerous convenience. “Now people are slowly going back to work,
families opted for online shopping with home delivery rather and ordering deliveries to work as well as home.”
than making the trek to retail stores masked, social-distanced
and with a smartphone contact-tracing app in hand. The pandemic thrust an idea to fruition
The international lockdown dealt a heavy blow to a nation The couple said they always wanted to start their own
that relies on tourism for 40% of its GDP. In the travel hub of business but had only a general plan with no idea it would
Nadi tens of thousands jobs were lost. be a delivery service. “Once we had established somewhat
Octavia and Gabriel Sharma were amongst the travel and of a following, we were exponentially increasing sales very
hospitality workers affected when borders closed for 20 quickly,” he said.
months. Octavia, a sales representative at Wyndham Resorts, Operating the start-up has brought a good deal of joy, but
and her husband Gabriel, a pilot at charter and scenic flights also there are challenges.
operator with Sunflower Aviation, surveyed their situation “The freedom is definitely gratifying, but can also be try-
and created a home-delivery service that quickly grew and ing,” said Gabriel. “Being first-time entrepreneurs, we don’t
continues to evolve. have any experience and we have to rely on each other.
“When the pandemic hit us, that was a huge change in our There are moments where we are scared to death about the
economic situation,” Gabriel said. “We thought about ways future of our company, also moments of frustration; we don’t
to create income because jobs were not readily available and always agree with each other.
decided to start with alcohol delivery because no one was “In saying that, we are grounded by our faith in God and
doing that.” are continually trying to be better people,” he continued.
They named the business Door Drop and said they were “What I can say is that we are always learning from our expe-
influenced by the Australian alcoholic beverage delivery ser- riences. It’s never a ‘negative’ encounter if we learn from it.
vices Drizly and Jimmy Brings. The business was later rebrand- It has a lot to do with our perspective and gratitude.”
ed Drop – “’Door Drop’ was sort of a mouthful,” said Gabriel, A mobile credit-card reader allows the service to mostly
“and ‘Drop’ looks better on paper” – and soon branched avoid the hassle of carrying lots of cash and having to give
beyond alcohol delivery. change. Customers order online or by telephone, and pay
“From around October to December 2020, people in upon delivery. The service, on average, costs FJD$10 to $15
Nadi still had jobs and could afford luxuries like alcohol and (US$4.70 to US$7), depending on distance to the delivery
utilised our service quite a bit,” said Octavia. “Fast forward point.
into 2021, that changed and we found that people were now Gabriel said the Fijian government has aided Drop and
spending money on necessities, i.e., food. other SMEs by making registering a business online effortless,

44 Islands Business, November 2021