Online fresh food platforms make hay as convenience shopping demand soars

BEIJING - Though she finished her work after the local farmers' market closed at around 7 pm, Chen Fang, a Beijing-based accountant, still managed to make five tasty dishes for her child's birthday.

For Chen, who loves food and cooking, buying fresh produce online has become the new routine, displacing her old habit of purchasing ingredients from farmers' markets.

"Why bother going to produce markets? With a simple click on my phone, I can order lobsters imported from Boston, cherries from Chile and organic tomatoes before heading home and find them on my doorstep when I arrive," she said.