By day, Mr Alan Wong, 33, is a creative director of Krome, a company that provides Web design and support services, but come durian season, he becomes the boss of Jojo Durian, which delivers the pungent fruit to customers.
It operates online and delivers only during durian season, which is usually from May to the end of August. The online company is operated by three friends and he came up with the idea.
Jojo started in July last year and came about when Mr Wong saw a business opportunity.
He says: "People may not want to stink up their cars with durians and it's inconvenient for people who do not have their own transport. Jojo Durian aims to solve these problems."
There was a bumper crop last year and he got about 150 orders a month. He gets the durians from a friend who owns a durian stall in Singapore and he and his friends pack the fruit into boxes before handing the orders to despatch riders from Zyllem, previously known as RocketUncle.
Asked about the durian harvest being affected by the weather this year, he says he expects a dip in orders, but since the trend of food delivery is picking up, he is not worried.
The company charges about $80 a kg for Mao Shan Wang durians as it weighs the fruit without the husk. There is a minimum order of two boxes, with a flat-rate delivery fee of $10. A box of Mao Shan Wang durian costs $79.80 and weighs 800g to 1kg.
Orders can be made at any time of the week, but the durians are delivered only on Thursdays and Fridays from 6 to 10pm. More slots may be opened up if the demand is high. Delivery is waived for orders of $150 and above and customers can go to www.jojo.sg to order.
All orders come with coconut water, gloves and tissue paper.
Similarly, Mr Melvin Chua, 46, started his durian delivery business, Durian Garden, because he saw that there was a gap in durian delivery services for smaller orders.
Customers call and tell him their preference and he recommends a type of durian. As Durian Garden offers a one-to-one exchange if customers are not satisfied, he says he makes sure to select the best fruit to be delivered.
Durian Garden charges about $18 a kg for Mao Shan Wang durians, weighing the fruit with the husk. There is no minimum order. The flat-rate delivery fee of $15 is waived for orders of $120 and above. Customers can call him on 9799-8873 to order.
227 Katong Durian started delivering durians in 2011. The price is $18 a kg for Mao Shan Wang durians, weighed with the husk. There is a minimum order of $100, with a flat-rate delivery fee of $30 that is waived for orders of $200 or more. Customers can call Mr Wong Yew Loon on 9751-4828 to order.
Brina Tan
