Improving REKO Communication and Ordering

1 |
REKO
Guidelines for improved
communication and ordering system
Anna Rátkai, 2020 November

2 |
Research Methods
This paper summarizes my research about how to improve REKO’s communication
and ordering system. I’m a UX designer, so the purpose of my research was to un-
derstand the problems with the current, Facebook based system, and identify the
most crucial points where it could be improved. As there are an increasing number
of enthusiastic developers who are working on/ already launched solutions for this
problem, I thought it would be useful to share my knowledge and suggest some ba-
sic guidelines, based on my findings, on how to develop a digital solution for REKO.
My hope is that this report will spark collaboration among active or aspiring devel-
opers / designers / entrepreneurs, so we can bring REKO to the next level together.
In order to design a suitable solution, it is necessary to understand:
What is REKO and how it works
The context
The challenges
Who are the users and what are their needs.
I’m going to go through these points and finish with key insights and practical advice that I
developed based on my research.
DESK RESEARCH
1. Facebook groups: Ads for the products and
comments.
2. Discussions in different groups, including
the Administrator group.
3. Hushållningssällskapet’s webpage
4. Other websites, blogs, news sites, podcasts
5. Youtube: mostly Richard Perkins
6. Existing apps
PRIMARY
1. Survey
2. User interviews
3. Interview with Hakan Eriksson
4. Visiting event

3 |
REKO is a farm-to-consumer food distribution
model. REKO stands for fair consumption and
the main purpose of th movement is to connect
local producers with consumers and make it
easy to buy/sell fresh products directly, without
any middleman.
In the past decades, supermarkets and industrial
producers slowly but steadily drove small farmers
out and took over the market. It has been difficult
for consumers to find locally produced or ecolog-
ical products. The demand for information about
where one’s food comes from has been increasing.
In 2013, as an answer to this demand, the first REKO
ring was created in Finland. In 2016 the first ring
started in Sweden and since then it has been grow-
ing exponentially. As of 2020 September there were
200 rings around Sweden with more than 700.000
members.1
Anyone can set up a REKO ring. The only require-
ment is to gather a few producers who would like
to be a part of a REKO ring, set the rules, create a
Facebook group for the ring and let consumers join
this group. There is at least one administrator who
is responsible for managing the Facebook group
and keeping in touch with the producers.
Producers create a post about the product(s) they
want to sell and post it in the Facebook group(s)
where they want to sell. Depending on the ring, the
ads might look different but generally they contain:
the name of the product, description, price, name
and contact information of the producer. Depend-
ing on the producer’s effort it can also be a great
marketing tool.
Consumers can place orders in the Facebook group
by commenting under certain producer’s ads. For
exampleunderanadthatsellsapples,Joakimcom-
ments: I would like to have 3 kg of apples. Then the
order is only confirmed when the producer reacts
(it can be a thumbs up) or a reply: “No problem”.
Now the producer is responsible to remember the
order and get it ready for the event. The customer
is responsible to remember the order and pick it up
at the event.
There is an agreed time and place for a delivery
event where customers and producers meet (usu-
ally the same day every week or every two weeks,
dependingonthering),soallmembersofthegroup
know the upcoming events.
The payment usually happens on the spot by cash,
card or swish.
REKO is not a farmer’s market, the pick-up events
only last 30-90 minutes and only the pre ordered
goods are exchanged, there is no option to buy ex-
tra on the event.
What is REKO
How it works
Understanding REKO
Consumer Producer
Administrator
EVENT

4 |
IN GENERAL
This concept obviously presents many benefits:
buying locally produced food means decreased
environmental impact by eliminating unneces-
sary transportation and packaging. It also con-
tributes to a thriving local economy where small
producers are supported and encouraged. This
system also encourages transparency from the
producers about their production practices and
creates a healthy competition among the produc-
ers which ultimately leads to a blanched market.
And because the sales take place on a social media
channel, it is available for free for everybody who
has an account. Neither the producer nor the
consumer have to pay in order to be a part of the
REKO ring.
Understanding the
context
FOR PRODUCES
For the producers REKO makes the whole sell-
ing and marketing process easier: they have an
increased exposure in a REKO group as they share
a customer base with other producers. This also
gives them a chance to keep an eye on the com-
petition. This exposure also lowers/eliminates
marketing cost and saves time. Because every-
thing is pre ordered, producers don’t have to worry
about over-harvesting, or wasting resources. They
take exactly what they are going to sell and they
sell it during the delivery event where all their pick-
up happens within a 30mins-1 hour window. This is
extremely efficient compared to regular farmers’
markets where they take random products and
spend hours trying to sell them. All these cost re-
ductions (or eliminations) and time saving lead to
increased profitability. By having direct contact
with their customers, producers have an opportu-
nity to build long lasting relationships. Producers
also have the advantage of setting their own prices,
although they have to be mindful about competi-
tors and demand.
FOR CONSUMERS
Thanks to REKO consumers have access to locally
grown, freshly harvested / processed products
which are usually healthier and higher quality
than supermarket products. There is no middle-
man in the delivery, customers get their orders
directly from the producers. This means that they
pay only for the product that they are buying, no
hidden marketing costs or commission for third
parties. This direct contact also allows them to talk
and build a personal relationship with the pro-
ducers. The ordering process is simple and easy
and can be done from the comfort of their chair.
The customer feels empowered by spending mon-
ey on something that aligned with their values,
and they feel that by ‘voting with their money’
they can show what kind of economy/ products
they want to see in the future.
Benefits

5 |
Increased interest in food
Growing interestes in cooking and preparing
food at home makes people more aware of the
quality and taste of the ingredients.
Health consciousness
Increasing awareness and concerns about
health leads people to rethink their diet. This
usually results in increased vegetable intake,
lowered sugar consumption and preference
for ecologically produced food.
Environmental concerns
The more information becomes available
about the environmentally destructive food
production and distribution processes the
more people become concerned about what
they put on their plate. Transportation, pack-
aging and production methods are among the
major concerns.
Ethical considerations:
Animal welfare, natural habitat destruction,
fair trade, and supporting the local economy
can be motivations to exclude certain food
items from one’s diet (for example meet or
palmoil.)
Convenience
Ordering online and picking up all the prod-
ucts at the same time and same spot can be a
huge time and energy saver.
Source: United Minds Report
Major trends contributing to the
growing popularity of REKO5

6 |
Understanding the
challenges
Structural challenges
Reko is a grassroot-led self-organized movement
which means that there is no central governing
agency, only locally established and managed
rings. The operation of every ring is based on four
generally accepted, however loosely defined rules:
(1) no middlemen allowed; (2) the food items sold
should be as local as possible; (3) ethical trade—
preferably organic; and (4) open and transparent
operations, which means that producers sould be
obliged to be open about their production meth-
ods2
. Anybody can set up a ring. Each ring has to
have at least one administrator who is responsible
for further specifying the ring’s rules. These rules
are based on the four generally accepted rules,
but can more concrete, and regulate what kind of
producers and consumer behaviour is welcome in
the ring. The administrator is the one who let’s in /
excludes members and makes sure that the rules
are followed.
The arising challenges are mostly connected to the
different interpretation of rule (3) by participants
with diverse value systems. Administrators with
different understanding of what “ethical” or “good”
might set different rules for their rings, exlude
some producers but inlude others. This leads to an
ongoing discussion about “what is REKO then?”. As
the movement grows it becomes harder to estab-
lish a shared sense of direction.
Members have different motivations: A produc-
er might see the increased profitability in REKO
while a consumer is looking for quality products.
In addition everybody has their own value system
and what they consider “ethical”. This leads to
misaligned priorities and preferences in the REKO
ring’s operation. Which then leads to the question
of the power of the different roles: who decides
what is ethical? The administrator has all the
power to decide who can or cannot be a member
of the ring. The administrator might even use this
position to manage the group according to his/her
own agenda and not based on common interest.
It is possible that the initially dynamic and self-or-
ganized structure can evolve into a hierarchical
organization.
These emerging challenges result in
(a) conflicts between members and thus a
divided community
(b)fragmentation and disorder of rings and
Facebook groups.
For example multiple rings established in the same
area with different rules. Some producers are not
allowed to sell in the already existing group (be-
cause their product is not aligned with the ring’s
regulations), so they decide to create their own
ring in the same city.
Because there is not central leadership, there is
no higher power who can settle these issues. The
importance of collective decision making is crucial.
Source: Boundary Negotiations in a Self-Orga-
nized Grassroots-Led Food Network: The Case of
REKO in Finland
1. No middlemen
2. Locally produced
3. Ethical
4. Transparency
Guiding
Ruels4

7 |
DISADVANTGES
Now let’s take a look at the aspects of Facebook
that cause inconvenience. The problems are bro-
ken down into two categories: (1) general prob-
lems, that refer to issues arising from the nature
and operation of Facebook and (2) usability prob-
lems, that the users encounter when they use the
system
Facebook related challenges
Although there are several factors that contributed
to REKO’s success, Thomas Snellman, the founder
of REKO, highlights the importance of using social
media as a marketing channel. Over time however
the movement seems to outgrow this platform
and the inconveniences keep emerging. In this
section we are going to first look at the advantages
of Facebook and how it contributes to REKO (even
today) and then take a look at the drawbacks, what
is missing or wrong with this platform.
ADVANTAGES
During the development of the REKO
movement Facebook has become the official com-
munication platform mainly for 3 reasons:
1. The first and most important is that it is a FREE
platform. Neither consumer nor producer have to
pay any fee in order to be able to sell/buy prod-
ucts. It is important for several reasons: producers
feel that their revenue is already too tight so they
don’t want to spend money on apps to sell their
products. Especially if they need several of them
for different types of sales or to reach out to differ-
ent customer groups. On the other hand the free
platform allows new customers to discover REKO
without any commitment which results in bigger
exposure for the producers and leads to exponen-
tial growth in number of members. REKO was cre-
ated with the genuine intention to bring producers
and consumers together, there was no business
agenda behind the idea. A free communication
platform is important to carry on this fundamental
value.
2.The second one is that the majority of the
people who are interested in REKO are already
on Facebook. So it means that through Facebook
REKO can reach out to a massive amount of peo-
ple, just because they are already in the system.
3. The third one is convenience. Firstly, it was
convenient (and possibly the only financially viable
option) to use a system that is alredy developed,
up and runnin and has a user base. Thomas
Snellman didn’t have to spend money time and
energy to develop a new pltform for REKO. Second-
ly, Facebook users are already familiar with how
ADVANTAGES
Free
Existing user base
Convenience
DISADVANTAGES
General
Exclusive
Security
Ethical concernes
Purpose
Algorithm
Usability issues
Homogeneous ads
Clutter
Comments
Lost information
No integrated system to track
orders
Fracton between Facebook
group and event
Lack of social proof
Splittng up Facebook groups
the system works, they already have the app on
their phone, they don’t have to make extra effort to
download and learn a new app. And as Facebook
is part of their everyday life it is convenient to use,
easy to get notification or just stumble upon new
ads when they scroll their feed.

8 |
Usability issues
1. Homogeneous ads: The more products a
provider sells the more cluttered the ads can get.
Sometimes the lengthy information is presented in
a homogeneous manner (no headlines, no high-
lights, just lines of text with the same font). This
means that customers have to spend a substantial
amount of time reading through all the ads to see
what they offer.
2. Cluttered feed: The more ads are posted in the
feed and the more people comment on each post,
the more cluttered the feed gets. There is no option
to filter or search for a specific item or a specific
provider.
3.Long comment section: Producers might
forget or overlook comments, and it can take a lot
of time to manually go through all the comments
and collect the orders. Consumers can also get lost
among comments.
4.Lost information due to deleted posts: After
every delivery event, the ads and comments are
deleted from the group. On one hand this is neces-
sary to keep only the relevant ads in the feed, on
the other hand this means that customers can not
Problems with Facebook as a communication
channel:
1. Exclusivity: “The majority of the users are
already on Facebook” goes the general assump-
tion. Although around 90% of the Millenial, X and
Boomer generation uses Facebook, there might
be individuals in that 10% who would like to buy
from REKO. But as Facebook is the only communi-
cation channel they either have to ask someone to
order for them or they just simply can’t buy. When
it comes to Generation Z, Facebook’s limited reach
comes forward: GenZ tend to use Facebook less
and less but on the other hand they are the genera-
tion who are becoming more concerned about the
environment and their health. They are potential
REKO customers, however having Facebook as the
only communication channel might hinder them
from joining.
2. Security: Many members have concerns about
the order information being public. The orders
can be picked up by anyone who has access to the
Facebook group. There is no identification system,
and if the order is prepaid, it is easy to just say the
name from the Facebook group and walk away
with the free produce.
3. Ethical concerns: REKO members question if
it is right to use Facebook when its data-privacy
scandals and mysterious machine learning algo-
rithms are a main source for concern for the public.
If you aren’t paying for the product with money,
you’re paying for it in other ways: with your time,
your privacy, or handing over your intellectual
property. It is a questionable decision to use a free
social media platform that’s income is from selling
user data.
4. Facebook was not created with the pur-
pose to accommodate REKO: In addition to the
questionable moral approach, Facebook does not
have the same values as REKO. Facebook is not
concerned about the wellbeing and growth of the
movement, it’s purpose is not to support REKO but
to create benefits for itself. Thus the changes in its
algorithm favours Facebook, not REKO members.
Indeed some of the changes are detrimental for
REKO and the algorithm hides or ranks lower some
posts.
5. The mysterious algorithm: It is mostly a
concern among the producers that Facebook
algorithm influences who will and will not see their
ads. The ads position in the group feed is also in
the mercy of the algorithm, as posts with the latest
comments get on top. This means that bigger
producers who get many orders keep staying on
the top of the feed (which ensures bigger expo-
sure and thus can lead to more orders) while the
smaller producers slide to the bottom of the feed
(where they are harder to discover which might
lead to less order). It is a self reinforcing cycle that
provides more visibility to providers who get more
comments.

9 |
Conclusion
The deeper discussion or the solution of the struc-
tural challenges are out of the scope of this paper.
The reason why I mention them is because it is
important to understand the structural organiza-
tion and the connected problems. Your product is
going to influence and will be influenced by these
factors. The design decisions you make have an
impact on how a ring is organized or managed, so
you have to be aware of the current and potential
future challenges that you might encounter. Your
design has to be ready to change and adapt to the
issues of tomorrow.
Based on the collected pro and contra reasons it is
clear that Facebook offers wide reach and easy ac-
cess to REKO groups which contributed to its rapid
growth. However, it is also clear that Facebook
has limitations. Some limitations, like the ethical
concerns and algorithms, question the righteous-
ness of using Facebook. Although the usability
limitations highlight the inconveniences that users
encounter, they do not lead to the definite conclu-
sion that Facebook is an inappropriate platform.
After understanding both benefits and negatives,
the question emerges: is REKO’s future linked to
Facebook? Should REKO base its whole movement
on Facebook, or should there be an independent
platform, that is tailored to the REKO member’s
needs? In order to answer this question, the fol-
lowings has to be taken into consideration:
What do the members of REKO want?
During my research, in many instances customers/
producers were not satisfied with the Facebook
system, found it confusing or inefficient, but nev-
ertheless said that they don’t need a new solution.
Using Facebook has become a habit and habits
are hard to break. We as humans are prone to stick
with the familiar inconveniences rather than try
something potentially better but unfamiliar. The
quote from Henry Ford, “If I had asked people what
they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
is a great example to show how people can be
blind to the benefits of novel solutions. This means
that even though at the moment people are not
looking for a new product, in case they are pre-
look back at their orders, can’t double check the
prices, sometimes lose the contact information to
the producer.
5.No system to keep track of the information:
One of the major defects of ordering through Face-
book is that it doesn’t have an integrated order
handling and information management system.
Both producers and consumers have to keep track
of their orders, and if they want to do so, they have
to use either pen and paper or a digital spread-
sheets.
6. Fraction between Facebook and delivery
event: Some producers post ads from their official
profile, others from their personal profile. This can
be a source of confusion. At the delivery event, pro-
ducers usually have the logo/poster of their farm,
and so for consumers it can be difficult to figure
out which private person posted for which compa-
ny/farm. This leads to a problem of identifying the
seller on the delivery event.
7. Lack of social-proof: In a way the amount of
comments under an ad counts as a social proof:
the more comments there are the more credible
and desirable the provider looks. However there is
no feedback or rating system where the consumers
can express their opinion about a producer.
8. Splitting up Facebook groups: There is a
natural saturation point for Facebook groups. This
means that there is only a certain number of pro-
ducers and ads a Facebook group can accommo-
date, otherwise the feed would get too cluttered.
One solution that is used in some cases is to break
up these big groups into smaller groups based
on product category: a separate Facebook group
for meat, for veggies, etc for the same ring. This
means that the delivery date and place is the same,
although consumers have to go to different groups
to order the products. On one hand this creates
clarity: less cluttered group feed and only related
products in a group. On the other hand, it creates
inconveniences for the producer who has to post in
several different groups and also for the consumer
who has to check several groups to order different
kinds of products and might also lead to confusion.
9. No option to personalize: Neither consumers
nor producers can personalize their ‘profile’. For
example saving favorite products or proucers, filter
search, save recurring ads, etc.

10 |
sented with a superior alternative, they will recog-
nize its value.
What is REKO’s purpose? Reko is an amazing
movement and the exponential growth shows
its relevance. REKO is an answer to many current
concerns regarding food origins, environment and
local economy. As there is no one clear direction
for the movement, it is hard to point out one spe-
cific purpose. The point here is rather to look at the
values of REKO and Facebook and consider if those
values converge.
Can the current system be improved?
Is it possible to make the groups more REKO
friendly and offer functions that help organizing or-
ders and make the communication more efficient?
Can a Facebook app be the solution? In case the
answer is yes, the question still remains: should it
be?
The future of Facebook. This is a complex ques-
tion involving politics, forming and breaking user
habits, socio-cultural trends, emerging social
media platforms and so much more. One thing
that is clear from my research is that generation Z
tends to use Facebook less than any other older
generation, and also the way they use Facebook is
changing. Will these changes influence the REKO
movement for the better or for the worse?
The available alternative options.
There are alternative solutions for REKO order han-
dling, but none of them could capture the entire
community yet. In order to do that, the alternative
platform must fulfill some basic requirements:
Use the right format (app or website, maybe
something else, maybe both)
Appealing visual design
The right functions = understanding user needs
Logical organization of information
Clear user flow
Clear copy and content (labels, buttons, error
messages etc)

11 |
Administrator
RESPONSIBILITIES
•• Arrange the event location
•• Set rules and regulations for the ring
•• Let in /exclude members
•• Monitor code of conduct
•• Monitor the content of the ads, make sure that
is up to the rules
•• Keep in touch with the producers
•• Help consumers with questions/ problems
•• Keep the feed clean: delete old ads.
•• Tell about the rules either in a pinned post or a
welcome letter to the new members
The administrators have a crucial role for two
reasons. First, because they are the ones who set
the rules and decide the values for the ring. They
are responsible for letting in / excluding members.
Ultimately they are responsible what the ring
stands for and what kind of products are allowed
to sell. Second, because REKO is based on mutual
trust that is maintained through honest and factual
information from both sides. So the administrator
of the group has the responsibility to monitor and
maintain the code of conduct among the members
and at the same time communicate important
REKO related information clearly and honestly.
Their work is voluntary, they don’t get a salary.
Facebook doesn’t have a guideline about what to include when setting up a REKO
group. There might be some steps / information that the administrator forgets.
When there are many incoming member requests, the administrator might not
be able to approve each of them individually and he/she has to switch to ‘public’
group, so anyone can join without approval. It takes the burdain off the admin-
istrator but at the same time leads to an inconvenient situation. New producers
start to post their ads without reading the rules, and then it requires extra work
and attention from the administrator later on to correct and manage them.
1.
Challenges
2.
Understanding the user

12 |
Producer
RESPONSIBILITIES
•• Making sure that their ads follow the rules
•• Answer the comments=accept orders
•• Keep track of the orders
•• Prepare and deliver the orders
•• Responsible for the safety of the food
•• Provide consumers with the correct informa-
tion about the product
•• Comply with laws and regulations for food,
accounting and tax
The best way to get familiar with the rules is to get in touch with the admin-
istrator. There is no set procedure who should initiate the contact, and there
are occasions when this contact is missed and leads to inconveniences. The
rules are usually included in the group description, but some cases produc-
ers just not read them and start posting faulty ads.
There is no one template for the content and presentation of the ad. This can
turn into a problem when producers forget to include important information,
or when ads end up too long and homogenous.
Confirming each order manually can be energy and time consuming.
Keeping track of orders is quite manageble on small scale. As the number of
orders grow so does the administrational burdain. Facebook doesn’t have an
integrated solution to handle this volume of orders (in the REKO context).
Local food producers, farmers who sell their prod-
ucts through REKO groups. If they want to sell a
product, they can post an ad in a REKO group but
they have to make sure that they follow the guide-
lines and include all the required information.
Once they posted their ad, customers are allowed
to order by commenting on the ad. The producer
needs to accept this order and make sure that they
will remember it. On the day of the event they are
responsible for preparing and delivering the order
to the customer. It is the producer who bears the
responsibility for the sale of the products and for
the safety of the food. It is also the producer who
is responsible for ensuring that the consumer
information provided is accurate (table of con-
tents, allergens, shelf life, etc.). It is the producer’s
responsibility to comply with laws and regulations
for food, accounting and tax.
1.
Challenges
2.
3
4

13 |
RESPONSIBILITIES
• Comment on the product they want to order
• Keep track of the order
• Pick up order at the event
• Pay
Consumer
Information about rules and regulations: it is important that new members are
aware of rules and regulations and that this information is always available. As
there is no standard way to do this, it is up to the administrator how she/he wants
communiate this information (sending message, in a post, etc)
No possibility to leave feedback for the producer. Mostly even posting anything
else than an ad is not allowed. (to keep the feed clean and up to date)
Ads can get lengthy as producers put multiple products in the same post, and it
can be difficult and time consuming to find the information one is looking for. The
growing number of comments adds to the complication.
Keeping track of the orders manually or by remembering might lead to confusion,
forgetting something, or other inconveniences.
Figuring out which producer the consumer ordered from can be tricky as some
Facebook ads are posted from private profiles and not the produers’ business
profle.
1.
Challenges
2.
3
4
5
Anybody can buy through REKO as long as he/she
follows the rules of the ring(s).

14 |
CONSUMER PRODUCER ADMINISTRATOR
PROFILE
• Create a profile
• Edit the profile
• Know about terms and condi-
tions
• Log in as easily as possible
(with facebook or google)
• Log out
• Deactivate account
• Delete account
• Disconnect account from Face-
book/ Google
• Create a business profile
• Set up a profile with pictures,
description, etc..
• Accept/deny terms and condi-
tions
• Log in as easily as possible
(with facebook or google)
• Log out
• Deactivate account
• Delete account
• Invite administrators for the
business
• Have a personal profile and
apply to be an administrator
for a ring
• Or start a new ring
RING
• Find a ring
• Find out about nearby rings
• Join a ring
• Leave a ring
• See the number of members
in the ring
• See the consumers in the ring
• See the producers in the ring
• Join a ring as an administrator
• Find a ring
• Find out about nearby rings
• Join a ring
• Leave a ring
• See the number of members
in the ring
• See the consumers in the ring
• See the producers in the ring
• Start a ring
• Join a ring as an administrator
• Set up ring rules and regula-
tions
• Set up a ring profile (descrip-
tion, rules…)
• Accept/decline/exclude mem-
bers
• Leave the ring as an admin
• Deactivate ring
• Delete ring
• Invite more admins to the ring
• Invite producers to the ring
EVENT
• Know the date and location
for the events
• See the next event when she
ordered
• Find the producer at the event
as soon as possible
• Know the date and location
for the events
• See the next event when she
ordered
• Find the producer at the event
as soon as possible
• Create an event
• Cancel an event
• Send out information about
the event
• Delete inappropriate posts
PRODUCTS
• Browse products
• Filter products
• See the prices
• See pictures of the products
• Rate products
• Mark products as favorite
• Social proof (see how many
bought the product, ratings
etc)
• Put products in the basket
• Create an ad about a product
• Save the ad for reuse
• Edit the ad before reuse
• Save the ad as recurring
• Assign products to a pick-up
event
• Choose between given units
and measures or flexible order
User goals

15 |
ORDER
• Put items in the basket
• Choose the amount of the
product
• See the final price for the cho-
sen amount
• See the sums / producer
• See the total sum
• See the upcoming orders
• See the payment options
• See if her payment was con-
firmed
• Edit her upcoming order
• See her purchase history
• Choose between automated or
manual order confirmation
• Retrive the orders for an up-
coming event
• Confirm payment
• See the history
• Check order history/consumer
• Edit order
• Contact the consumer in case
something is not working out
with the order.
COMMUNICATION
• Reach out to the producer at
any time
• Reach out to a ring administra-
tor at any time
• Talk to the group members
and build the community
• Share their opinion about a
producer/product/event
• Reach out to a consumer at
any time
• Reach out to a ring administra-
tor at any time
• Have a conversation with the
other producers in a ring
• Reach out to the producer at
any time
• Reach out to a consumer at
any time
• Send out welcome letter +
rules
OTHER
• Donate (depending on busi-
ness model)
• Get notification
• Get information
• See statistics
• Integrate third party platforms
• Wants to manage other sales
channels through this one app
(not a core function, for the
future)
• Get notifications
• Get information (legal, respon-
sibilities,etc)
• See statistics for the ring
• Get notifications
• Get information

16 |
Key insights and
practical advices
KEY INSIGHTS
Create with REKO not for REKO. This is the
essential advice from Håkan Eriksson ( Hushålln-
ingssällskapet project manager). As REKO is a
grassroot movement, it doesn’t have a central
managing board. The members represent the
values of the movement, the REKO values live
within the local communities not in a corporate
headquarter. It is very important to keep this in
mind if you want to develop a product for the
REKO movement. However good your intentions
are, you can not present a new app and expect the
members to sign up on day one. People are proud
to be a part of this movement and as they are the
one who represent the values, they want to be a
part of the development process. It is crucial that
you start to build a relationship with the commu-
nity even before you start to develop the product.
And when you are working on it, ask the members
what do they think, what do they need. Create a
continuous flow of information, ask for their opin-
ion, show that you really care about REKO and
their needs. Build a supportive circle around your
idea and make sure that you are developing this
idea TOGETHER with the community and not for
them, isolated, based on your own intuitions.
How to introduce the new platform? There are
different strategies to attract users when launch-
ing a new platform. REKO already has a free com-
munication platform, so you have to come up with
a strong value proposition and approach the users
in a smart way in order to grab their attention. I
highly recommend the book Platform Revolution
which describes different strategies to build up
an initial user base. You can either offer features
targeted at producers that are so superior to Face-
book that they can not ignore your product. Or
you can attract customers first who will demand
producers to use the system later. In any case, you
have to have a strategy on how to build up your
user base before you start designing your product.
Because your decisions during the process depend
on who is your primary target in the beginning.
Whichever angle you choose it is important to
keep in mind that people don’t always realize the
need of a new solution until it is available and they
can experience the benefits for themselves. Using
Facebook is an integrated part of daily life (for
many), and thus it is hard to switch to another app.
And it is even harder to imagning to switching to a
yet intangible app. The competition is not purely
about who writes better code or has better design
(although those are important nevertheless) but
heavily about who understands the user better.
Switching from Facebook to another platform is a
behavioural change, regardless if you approach
from the producer or the consumer side. While you
develop your ideas you have to be aware of this
important aspect. It is not only about the code, it is
about the people. That is why the first encounter is
a make or break moment: the easier it is to switch
from Facebook, the more willing people are going
to be to give it a try. Make this behavioral change
as effortless as possible. Seamless integration
is crucial. Eliminating frictions is crucial. Making
it as easy for members to get started on the new
platform as possible is crucial. Think about offer-
ing incentives to start on the new platform.
Embrace the challenges. As it was mentioned in
the beginning, REKO is facing challenges due to the
self-organized structure. Every ring has their own
regulations based on the four generally accepted
rules. So far, this decentralized structure has been
a strength of the movement, but with the growing
number of members and their diverse opinions
the intensity of inner conflicts is rising and ques-
tions about rights and wrongs keep emerging. As
a product developer you have to be aware of these
tensions within the movement, because the prod-
uct has to work with these issues and can’t ignore
them. Maybe the app can even be a solution for

17 |
some of these issues.
Keep REKO free. One of the fundamental success
factors of REKO is that it started on a widely avail-
able and free social media platform. My research
clearly shows that both customers and producers
think that free is the only option forward. Not only
because they got used to it, but because that is
what REKO is all about. Supporting the local com-
munity without any business agenda. That is why
LFN is supported by producers: because the devel-
opers’ primary goal is not money related, brather
to support the movement. (Local Food Nodes runs
on voluntary donations). When developing a new
idea, you should keep in mind that your business
model should embrace this core value. Of course
a new product has to be financed, but you should
work out a business plan that respects this aspect
of REKO.
Use “REKO” in the name of the product with
caution. Because there is no central decision mak-
ing board for REKO, the only way to declare some-
thing as the “official” platform for REKO is if it is en-
dorsed by the community. When “REKO” is used in/
as the name of the product that gives the impres-
sion that this product was approved by someone
to become the official REKO platform and that can
make members weary or sceptial. Because REKO
name is not patented, from a legal perspective it is
possible to use. This doesn’t mean you should use
it. Before you do so, think about the positive and
negative impact it has on the product and support
from the members.
Think about the consequences. Good intention
can backfire. Maybe if you focus on making the
ordering process as simple as possible for the con-
sumer, it can break the producers’ usual process of
preparing the orders. When you are developing the
product, don’t only think about that one function,
but also about how that function influences other
actions, not only within the platform, but through-
out the entire flow. Talk to the users, ask them
what works better for them. Also it is important to
keep in mind that your design decisions can mod-
ify processes as well as invoke structural changes.
As we talked about it before, in REKO’s decentral-
ized organization, the role of the administrators is
important. Your design decisions might influence
what the administrator is allowed/not allowed to
do, and thus how groups are governed. This then
might lead to changes in the current power bal-
ance. This is especially important, because you
have to come up with a solution that is accepted by
the members, otherwise they are likely to ignore
your app. You have to understand what powers/
responsabilities are they ready to give up/ take on
and what are the changes that could make them
stay away from your product. The two cornerso-
tone here are 1) to understand the users and 2)
finding the right balance.
There needs to be a better way to promote
REKO. At the moment there is information about
REKO all over the internet. Producers explain REKO
on their websites, news sites pick up the story,
bloggers talk about it. But because REKO does
not have a governing board, there is no official
platform, a reko.com webpage where people can
find all the information. There is information on
Hushalningskapet’s website focusing on providing
legal and practical advice for those who want to
start a ring. There is no platform where REKO is
‘marketed’. By marketed I mean a platform where
REKO values and activities are presented to the in-
terested public in an engaging, visually appealing,
easy to digest format. There should be an “official”
source of information where it is explained what
is REKO, what are the benefits, and makes it easy
to join a ring (call to action). Such a platform is
not only important from a marketing perspective
but also for expressing the value system for REKO
members. As it was discussed before, right now
a vague value system leaves too much room for
interpretation, and thus instead of bring the whole
movement together it induces conflict. It is im-
portant that this website does not only engage the
rational brain, but uses storytelling techniques to
invoke emotional reactions.

18 |
detrimental for a producer. (E.g: limit the possibili-
ty to change up until the time the producer accepts
orders)
Social-proof: Make it possible to leave comments
or ratings for producers.
Community: Let them socialize, build the commu-
nity within the platform.
Direct contact: Make sure that the consumer can
always reach out to the producer (and also vica
versa).
Inspire: Use gamification techniques to engage
and inspire the user.
Automate: Automate tasks that are repetitive (for
example the administrator sending out a welcome
letter to every new member, confirming orders,
etc…)
Make information available: the consumers
should always be able to access the rules of the
group, but it shouldn’t be in a disturbing way.
Producers could benefit from having the rules and
regulations available within the platform. There is
general information (for example covid updates)
that everybody should be able to access.
Don’t forget that different producers prefer differ-
ent payment methods and sometimes have other
instructions for the pick-up events. Make sure that
they have a chance to let the customer know, and
also that the customer is aware of this information
when making buying decisions.
Notify: Remind consumers about their orders, pick
up dates
Integrate: Make it as easy as possible to share an
ad on Facebook.
Label: It is very important for both producers and
consumers to indicate eco and krav (and possibly
other certificates) products. Create a labeling sys-
tem where producers can categorize their products
and where consumers can filter for their desired
certificates and product categories.
Easy log-in: Make logging in as easy as possible
(Facebook log-in)
Keep personal and business profile separate:
Meaning that producers sign-up as a private per-
son, and they are able to create a separate busi-
ness profile. In the groups they post products from
the business profile. There are several reasons for
this: 1) The research clearly shows that producers
buy from other producers in the group. So by hav-
ing their private profile always available, it is easy
for them to make orders. 2) Several administrators
can be added to the business profile. 3) Better for
transparency, it is traceable who did what. 4) It is
possible to distinguish within a REKO group who is
a producer (business profile) and consumer (pri-
vate profile). 5) Easier to identify the producer at
the delivery event.
Make it easy to join a ring: First of all, you have to
make it easy to find a ring. Use a map to indicate
the rings around the user. When they know which
rings they are interested in, make sure that all
relevant information is available to make a deci-
sion (eg: the ruls of the ring, number of producers,
delivery days, etc.)
Help the user make sense of the information:
Use headers, spacing and colors to organize the
information and make it easy to understand.
Help the producers create their ads: Facebook
does not provide any guideline, or any option for
that matter, for producers to create an appealing
ad. It is just lines of text. Sometimes producers
don’t have the time or the experience to create an
and sometimes they forget to put in some infor-
mation. The platform should guide them. Make
as easy as possible for producers to a) remember
what information is required 2) make the ad look
nice and concise (template).
Personalization: Offer the option to save favorite
products, favorite producers, create shopping lists,
save recurring shopping.
Make changes possible: Make it possible for
consumers to change or delete their order. At the
same time make sure that these changes are not
PRACTICAL ADVICES

19 |
Final words
I hope you find this information useful and can implement some ideas into your prod-
uct. As I see it, this report is only a “first draft”, there is so much more to learn about
REKO and so many great ideas how to make it better. In order to bring desirable, sus-
tainable and impactful improvements, REKO members and product developers have
to work closely together. Therefore I encourage open and constructive communication
between the people who experience the problems/inconveineces and the people who
has the knowledge and skills to solve these problems.
If you have any ideas or thoughts you would like to share or maybe looking for help to
figure out strategy or a business model, please feel free to contact me:
Anna Rátkai
LinkedIn
anaratkai@gmail.com

20 |
RESOURCES
1: Hushallningssallskapet’ webpage
https://hushallningssallskapet.se/forskning-utveckling/reko/
2: Boundary Negotiations in a Self-Organized Grassroots-Led Food Network: The
Case of REKO in Finland
file:///D:/Download/sustainability-11-04137.pdf
United Minds Report: https://www2.jordbruksverket.se/download/18.4b45765516da21fe-
03ba1202/1570536166822/ovr515.pdf
Richard Perkins YouTube videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn7MP7NeJwQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvsiLWXIfPc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzPEPk3R_EY
Thomas Sellman TED speech:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=85&v=ETHa7MPEl1A&feature=emb_logo
About Facebook
https://theconversation.com/why-people-leave-facebook-and-what-it-tells-us-about-the-future-of-
social-media-128952
About Reko
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe6rHuJhimc
https://hushallningssallskapet.se/forskning-utveckling/reko/
https://www.moyhillfarm.com/what-is-reko#:~:text=Reko%20stands%20for%20’Fair%20Consump-
tion,ordering%20system%20for%20local%20products.
https://www.bramleigh.co.za/blog/2019/02/08/what-is-reko
https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/14112/1/daving_gotberg_l_181220.pdf
https://www.growingformarket.com/articles/reko-ring-new-way-presell-online
https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/uppsala/sug-efter-lokalproducerat-har-skapat-en-ny-folkrorelse
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338007077_Perceptions_and_experiences_of_sustain-
ability_among_producers_in_the_REKO_alternative_food_network_in_Finland
https://www.smabrukarlaget.no/norsk-bonde-og-smabrukarlag/matnyttig/lokalmatringer/re-
ko-network/

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