Want Organic Fruit and Vegetables Delivered? You Too Should Use TooToo

Have you been trying to eat healthier? Do you like convenience? The TooToo.cn online grocery delivery service has done lots to make my life easier. It could help you, too.

TooToo claims it's the biggest organic (有机 youji) online supermarket. I can't vouch for whether these products are legitimate, but I will say that there's a degree of transparency here that isn't available from my corner fruit vendor.

Unfortunately, there's no English version of TooToo yet, but it holds up under a combination of guesswork clicking and Google Translate.

I've ordered mangoes (RMB 8.8 per jin), blueberries (RMB 9.9 for 125g box), tomatoes, carrots, eggplant and watermelon and staples like milk, eggs and yogurt. They also threw in a bundle of cucumbers with my first order for some reason. I also had a spot of trouble getting my first order to go through when I accidentally put VIP-only eggs in my shopping cart, so do keep an eye out for that.

I've been pleased with everything I've tried so far. I'm quite happy with the mangoes and blueberries, especially considering how reasonably priced they were. I've had better of both in this town, but not at these prices.

My most recent order was placed at 11pm and arrived at 10am the next day. When the delivery guy arrived, he helped me check all the perishables such as the eggs and blueberries so make sure I was satisfied that they were in good condition. I also appreciated the option of paying cash on delivery. Delivery to addresses inside the Third Ring is free for orders above RMB 100 (and just RMB 10 for orders below that).

If for some reason you like fighting through traffic and waiting in line, you have the option of picking up your groceries at one of their drop zones. Just don't be surprised if you come back with a migraine and a hankering for a glass of scotch.

On a side note, it's interesting that the company decided to go with TooToo for its English name, instead of using the pinyin tuotuo (沱沱). Part of me believes it has something to do with this 2006 forum thread asking for help naming an online platform for imports and exports. Hmmm … but, I'm biased, so maybe I'm just grasping at straws here.

So there you have it. If you need help signing up and placing an order, read on below. Also, I owe a hat tip to Nutritioneer Olivia Lee for telling me about this site.

Ready to jump right in? Here we go.

Navigate to Tootoo.cn and click on the characters 免费注册 (mianfei zhuce) to register. If you already have Alipay, Sina Weibo or QQ, you can use those to login. If not, you can fill out the username (email address), nickname, password and verify-password boxes. The radio buttons on the bottom are for where you heard about TooToo and will qualify you for an RMB 10 coupon (with minimum spending of RMB 100). When you're done, click the big red button (注册) to register.

Once you're in, you'll want to go to the 沱沱商城 (tuotuo shangcheng) to shop. From there, you can choose from a list of nine categories. In order, from left to right:

• Fruits and vegetables (蔬菜水果)
• Meat, poultry and eggs and milk (肉禽蛋奶)
• Seafood (海鲜水产)
• Cereals, oils and non-staple food (粮油副食)
• Snacks (休闲食品)
• Drinks (酒水茶饮)
• Nutrition and health (营养保健)
• Ecological daily use products (生态日用)
• Natural beauty products (天然美护)

When you're done shopping, click on the checkout (结算 jiesuan) button on the right side of the page. From there, you can review your purchases and adjust the amounts and then click on checkout now (现在去结算 xianzai qu jiesuan).

On the next page, you'll need to fill out the name of the person receiving the shipment, the delivery address, a cell phone number and a landline number. Next, you can choose a delivery date (blue is the selected date, the green 可送 buttons are other choices). Alternatively, you can click on the radio button for self-pickup (客户自提 kehu ziti) and choose one of the delivery spots.

Under the payment options (支付方式 zhifu fangshi) section, you can pay with an account balance, gift card balance, COD (货到付款 huodao fukuan) or online payment. The box at the bottom is for special delivery instructions. When you're ready to go, you can click the red button (提交订单 tijiao dingdan) at the bottom of the page to place your order. Enjoy!

Photo: Josh Ong