Foodhub.fi — Digital platform for local food communities

Do you recognise these challenges?

Many local food communities struggle with the same problems week after week.

Hours spent on manual work

Collecting orders from comments, tallying by hand and messaging take hours every week.

Producer attendance required

Every producer has to be present at each distribution in person, week after week.

Tight scheduling

A 20–60 minute pickup window in a car park. Miss it and the order is gone.

Cash payments and no-show risk

The customer doesn’t turn up. The producer is left with products already set aside.

Volunteer burnout

Coordination rests on one volunteer’s shoulders. When they burn out, the whole operation stops.

At the mercy of the weather

Outdoor distribution means rain, frost and darkness make operations difficult, especially in winter.

The solution: a ready-made platform for food hubs

Ekompi.net provides everything a local food community needs to operate — in one service.

Online shop

Clear product catalogue, shopping cart and order tracking. Customers order easily from any device.

Online payments

Paytrail integration: card, online bank and MobilePay. Prepayment eliminates no-show risk.

Pickup points

Flexible pickup points with wide time windows. IoT doors enable self-service collection.

Producer management

Producers manage their own products, prices and stock. Sales reports and invoicing are automatic.

Reporting

Real-time sales and order reports. Transparent pricing and financial tracking for all parties.

Mobile app (PWA)

Installable web app for all devices. Push notifications for orders and pickups.

Before and after

This is how daily operations change when you switch to a professional platform.

	Traditional way	Ekompi.net
Ordering	Comment on a Facebook post	Online shop — browse, select, order
Payment	Cash or MobilePay on site	Prepayment online (Paytrail)
Order collection	Manually from comments	Automatic — reports ready
Pickup time	20–60 min fixed window	Flexible window (e.g. 06–20)
Pickup location	Car park, outdoors	Indoors, possible IoT doors
Producer presence	Required at every distribution	Delivery to reception is enough
Invoicing	Producer handles it	Automatic
No-show risk	Customer doesn’t turn up	Prepayment — risk eliminated
Order history	Buried in comments	Order history and favourites in app
B2B sales	Not supported	Restaurants and contracts built in

View presentation → · Transparent pricing model → · Ekompi.net vs REKO comparison →

Benefits for everyone

The platform serves producers, customers and coordinators.

For producers

Self-service product, price and stock management
No mandatory attendance at distributions
Automatic invoicing and sales reports
Transparent pricing — producers see their share
Direct communication with customers
One dashboard, multiple pickup points

For customers

Order online anytime
Flexible pickup window — no rush to the car park
Secure online payments
Order history and push notifications
Automatic refund for missing products
Authorised pickup by another person

For coordinators

Professional admin dashboard
No manual order tallying
Financial reporting and tracking
Own branding and settings management
Newsletters and customer communication
Joint hub and platform marketing reaches more people
Operations survive coordinator changes

How to get started

Setting up your own food hub is straightforward.

Set up your food hub

The platform is configured for your community: your own brand, pickup points, features and settings.

Invite producers

Producers register and add their products independently. Existing producers transition smoothly.

Open an order period

Publish an order period with schedules. Customers order and pay online.

Producers deliver

Producers see orders in the dashboard and deliver products to pickup points.

Customers collect

Customers pick up their orders flexibly within wide time windows. Confirmation in the app.

What does a hub need to operate?

A pickup point is the key to success. A good central location is the single most important factor. Collaboration with a municipality, shopping centre or small business makes finding a suitable space easier.

Rent, refrigeration and interim storage create running costs — the food hub’s share of the sales price is intended to cover these expenses.

A coordinator is the other success factor. The hub leader keeps the community together, manages producer relationships and develops operations.

The coordinator should be compensated for their work — this too is covered by the hub’s share.

Project funding provides momentum for the start-up phase. A ready platform means funds are directed where they matter most: building collaboration and supporting small local producers.

Proven in practice

2018

Platform in use

150+

Producers

2 000+

Customers

15 000+

Orders processed

Uudenmaan ruoka has used the platform since 2018 in the Helsinki metropolitan area. The same technology is ready to scale to new regions and communities.
Learn more → uudenmaanruoka.fi

Awarded: for local, innovative and future-proof entrepreneurship

The ekompi.net platform was recognised by the Urban&Local – sustainable food ecosystem of the future project as a digital common-good platform service supporting a sustainable food ecosystem by connecting local food producers and local residents.

Diploma awarded at Helsinki City Hall, 24 November 2025