A playbook for Generating Business Ideas

6. Etsy for Food and Beverage
Network-based models are replacing traditional bureaucratic models in many
industries. For example, Twitter to News, Soundcloud to Music, and Amazon to
Publishing.
The food and beverage distribution process is an extremely bureaucratic
structure with many layers, similar to the publishing industry. A network-based
model would make it easier for producers of food and beverages to distribute,
and for consumers of food to buy the food they want from niche producers.
We know there’s demand for food (Kraft), we know people like buying small
batch (Etsy), and we know people like shopping online (Amazon), but we don’t
know if they like buying small batch food online. So this one is risky. However,
food and beverage, despite being one of the largest retail markets, has lagged in
ecommerce penetration. I’m also not sure about the legality of buying or selling
foods that aren’t approved by the government.