Yahya Shunnar started his Canadian entrepreneurial journey in 2019, under the guidance of WEtech’s Director of Venture Services, Adam Castle.
“I took an office in the EPICentre,” recalls Shunnar. “I’ve been working with Adam ever since then. He’s been coaching me on every idea I’ve come up with.”
Shunnar co-founded InLogic Global, a one-stop-shop for all business needs, including web development, mobile app development, event management, survey management, award excellence management and much more. The company quickly amassed over 300 clients, including industry leaders like Samsung, LG and even government organizations.
“WEtech has been able to help me navigate Canadian business law, customer discovery, market analysis, the list is endless,” explains Shunnar. “I don’t think enough people realize that the services being offered by the Canadian and Ontario governments aren’t found anywhere else in the world.”
Shunnar’s newest venture, Butchers Direct, is looking to capitalize on the shift to digital and the growing popularity of e-commerce, which has been accelerated by COVID-19.
“Yahya’s story as a new Canadian is an inspiring one,” Castle states. “He’s been able to take all his amazing skills and channel them into a new platform that’s tested extremely well not just for our region, but across Canada.”
“When we started off, our idea was to put all local grocery stores online,” Shunnar explains. “The full spectrum of grocery stores—everything. But then, I narrowed my focus to the local meats industry.”
Butchers Direct has adopted a familiar model, allowing local vendors to add their store to the platform.
“This platform is a complete e-commerce solution,” explains Shunnar. “It empowers all these local butchers by giving them access to a larger swath of customers. It streamlines the whole process with delivery and payments. You create your own store. You list your own items. And then you sell your products to your valued customers.”
Screenshot of the Butchers Direct website, where customers can purchase their favourite meats from local butchers, delivered directly to their front door.
The platform also provides customers with a much wider selection of meats, and features numerous halal and kosher-friendly meat providers, as well as fresh fish.
“Customer’s tastes vary quite a lot when it comes to meats,” said Shunnar. “It’s not like groceries, where we all more or less select the same things. And the texture and taste of meat can vary wildly from one butcher to another. So, with that in mind, we thought we should open up the market to everyone and provide local customers with a mechanism where they can have access to a wider selection of meat and butchers.”
“People don’t want to go out and potentially put themselves at risk during the pandemic.”
What’s more, Butchers Direct also provides a delivery service during the pandemic.
“People don’t want to go out and potentially put themselves at risk during the pandemic,” adds Shunnar. “And you don’t want to go out, run to the butcher shop and find out that they don’t have what you want. So, we offer a delivery service.”
For Shunnar, Butchers Direct’s ethos is one of true connection.
“It’s all about providing a competitive environment for the whole industry,” Shunnar states. “When I first started with online retail, I discovered that there was a genuine problem with the model. There is no platform that connects local farms to slaughterhouses to butchers or local restaurants. This will provide that for Windsor and eventually Canada.”
And Windsor couldn’t be more excited to embrace this new innovation in an industry ready for change.
“We are connecting with new butchers everyday who see the value, and customers who crave convenience,” adds Shunnar. “If you’re a business who wants to get involved, I’m ready to help you every single step of the way.”
Learn more about Butchers Direct at www.butchersdirect.ca. There is also a mobile app available to download for Android.
