Oct
11
Written by:
Produce Oasis
10/11/2013 3:21 AM
Improvements Coming To ProduceOASIS
My name is Mike Burrington and I am the founder of ProduceOASIS. Regardless if this is your first visit, or one of many over the years, thanks for dropping by!
I’m excited to announce that big changes are coming, and while the improvements will be substantial, I promise that the purpose behind ProduceOASIS remains simple and unchanged; provide consumers with information about fruits and vegetables in order to make better purchase decisions.
A Bit of History
I want to take a moment to explain the site’s history and mine. I think it’s important for you to know the passion I have for this business in order to earn your trust around the content and functionality you’ll find on ProduceOASIS. It might surprise you to know that ProduceOASIS was launched in 1996. However, I have been involved in the produce industry for nearly 34 years and the cool thing for me is that it has never become boring. There is always a new variety of citrus to discover, a passionate grower with a story to tell or an interesting bit of trivia to learn. Personally, I find sharing all of this information with customers extremely gratifying, which makes running ProduceOASIS an absolute pleasure.
Our Team Hears You
With the help of a great team and input from you, this site will only get better. The needs of consumers have not changed since 1996, but the technology sure has! Speaking of a great team, we have an amazing group of developers, technology providers and advisors – all led by Joel Blakley. I’ve known Joel since our time together at HomeGrocer.com and we have remained close friends. Joel is absolutely passionate about the customer experience. As we roll out the improvements we have planned, you will hear from Joel often in this space – asking for your input. All of us want to hear what you have to say about the changes and Joel is committed to making sure everyone on the development team listens to what you have to say. I can’t promise that we will be able to do everything that each of you asks, but I can promise that we’ll listen. When a decision works, you’ll let us know and when we make a mistake, we’ll do the right thing.
What’s Coming
With that in mind, here is a partial list of the improvements we’re planning for ProduceOASIS:
- An improved look and feel. There is a lot of empty space on the site we will put to better use. Also, while ads help pay the bills, they will be incorporated into the site in less intrusive ways.
- An improved browse experience. We’ve heard from visitors that it can be difficult to navigate the site when you have to scroll down to find choices on where to go next for information.
- A Blog feature where we can share our passion for produce and you can share your experiences with us. I love learning new things about produce and I’m sure others will appreciate the same.
- A curated list of the newest or best seasonal produce available, plus info on the growers and some tips on usage.
- OASIS Mobile app. We have lots of plans in this area, but we’re going to start with a simple, sleek and valuable app that will help you make better decisions while you’re in-store.
- Enhanced social media access. Things like the tip of the day will be available via Twitter. We also need to do a better job of allowing others to share how they use ProduceOASIS via Facebook.
Long story short, ProduceOASIS always has been (and will ALWAYS be) designed with consumers in mind so you can enjoy the best tasting produce, save time (which means saving money) and have fun at the same time. Be sure to visit the OASIS often and look for enhancements to the site along with info on the timing of the launch of the OASIS mobile app. We’ll be updating you on improvements frequently via this blog, but please be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well.
Thanks for your past support and thanks in advance for your feedback during these exciting next chapters!
Cheers,
Mike