Ethnico’s digital backbone for ethnic food distribution

‍About Ethnico 

Ethnico is a B2B platform that digitalizes the distribution chain for international and ethnic food products in the Netherlands. The platform brings together three key players: suppliers (major food brands like Red Bull and Coca-Cola), wholesalers (the link between brands and stores) and stores (ethnic supermarkets that place the actual orders). By connecting all three in a single digital environment, Ethnico sets a new standard for how ethnic food distribution is organized, tracked, and scaled.

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How did it all start? 

Before Ethnico, the ethnic food distribution sector in the Netherlands ran almost entirely on informal communication: orders via WhatsApp, promotions shared as forwarded PDFs, prices scattered across Excel files. Store owners had to contact multiple wholesalers separately for a single order. Wholesalers had no scalable way to track deals and commitments. And suppliers had no reliable insight into where their products ended up in the chain. The sector had serious growth potential, but the infrastructure to support that growth simply did not exist. Ethnico set out to change that and needed a technology partner to build it from the ground up.

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One complete package

Ethnico needed a single platform that could serve three very different types of users, each with their own workflows, permissions, and priorities. No workarounds, no Excel files, no missed messages. Together with Moonly, Ethnico built a role-based digital environment that connects every layer of the supply chain in real time.

The platform

Store owners use the platform to discover deals, manage orders, and stay on top of promotions, without ever picking up the phone. New promotions land instantly via WhatsApp, and a reorder takes just a few clicks. Wholesalers manage their stock, promotions, and retail commitments from their own dedicated dashboard. Suppliers track how their products move through the chain and run targeted promotions with volume incentives across the entire network. From order management and promotion calendars to volume commitments and price protection: the platform brings structure to a sector that previously ran on informal relationships and scattered spreadsheets. A loyalty program is currently in development.

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The result

A sector once held together by WhatsApp threads and phone calls now has a professional digital backbone. Store owners browse deals and place orders in minutes. Wholesalers have a clear overview of their network and run promotions without manual follow-up. Suppliers finally have the visibility and control they need to strengthen their position in the ethnic food market.

In under 1,000 development hours, Moonly delivered a production-ready platform connecting three layers of a highly fragmented supply chain, built for the way the sector actually works and ready to scale with it.

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