I have no idea why I have not jumped onto the "honestbee grocery concierge" bandwagon till now. It's about time, I guess, especially since I will be without any domestic help in a month's time.

I usually shop at FairPrice Xtra for most of the family needs as we have one well-stocked outlet nearby. Occasionally, I'll drop by the Chinese medicinal hall a few streets away to get cheaper diapers or take a 10-minute drive to the nearest NTUC Finest for gourmet grocery for a special homecooked meal. It's a lovely experience to be at the store physically, browsing through shelves of products, but if I have 5 other errands on my To-Do list, grocery shopping can get frustrating.

And imagine bringing a 6-year-old child along and lugging three bags of groceries that weigh 5 kg each - hence the need to explore online grocery.

honestbee? What's that?

I believe by now, most of you would have heard about honestbee even if you have not tried the services before. honestbee started out as an online grocery concierge service and today, it has expanded its concierge services to medication, food and laundry services. (Scroll down for current promotions for first-time sign ups)
For online grocery shopping, the number of stores available on honestbee is impressive! There are 29 stores available in my area, with products ranging from premium vegan cold-pressed juices, DIY home improvement products, exquisite French or Japanese gourmet products and local domestic products. What have I missed out all this while?!

More savings with honestbee's Family Market

Recently, honestbee launched a new store that aims to cater to the needs of families with young children. Family Market, as the name implies, carries family and baby essentials ranging from food and snacks, health and beauty essentials, to baby care products like diapers and milk powder, and household goods. These products are direct from the suppliers so you will find that the prices are lower than those of major supermarkets.

For example, I save $1.72 when I get the Dove shampoo at Family Market store than the usual supermarket I go to.

Price comparison for Dove shampoo

Look at how much a parent saves from diapers at Family Market! A price comparison on Merries diapers across other honestbee's stores and Redmart shows that you get to save most on Family Market. (If you are only looking to buy diapers, Singapore Motherhood has a very useful article on cheap diapers in Singapore.)

Price comparison of Merries diapers (prices quoted are accurate at the time of publication)

For now, there are about 900 items available at Family Market which I feel is rather limited. I believe honestbee will continue to add more essential items to better serve the needs of families with young kids. Oh, also take note that there are no fresh or chilled products from this store (yet).

My online grocery shopping experience with honestbee 

Since it was my first time ordering from honestbee, I took some time to familiarise myself with the platform and compare prices of items I wanted across various platforms and with the stores on honestbee. As I added items to the cart, I imagined little hardworking bees buzzing around the store, picking up those items as I clicked. I know ... I'm too imaginative. 

Here's sharing what wow-ed me (and didn't) about honestbee:
The "Wow!" about honestbee

• The website has a very user-friendly interface and it is easy to navigate around the platform. 
• They promise their prices are exactly the same as in the stores. I compared prices of a few items I usually get from FairPrice Xtra with the FairPrice store on honestbee. Yes, same same indeed.
• I can shop at multiple stores in one order! This will come in useful if I am hosting a gathering and need gourmet groceries, soft drinks, disposable cutlery, etc. Imagine the amount of time saved from running all the stores myself. 
• The convenience and time saved because someone else is doing the task and I don't have to break my back carrying bulky items home. My first honestbee order is a 10-kg load of items and I am thankful that it was delivered right up to my doorstep.
• There is real-time tracking of the order. The order showed that my concierge shopper was preparing my stuff at 6:27 pm. 
• honestbee delivers from 11 am to 10 pm daily (subject to store operating hours), including weekends and public holidays. 
• The glass bottles were separately packed in another box with a label indicating fragile items. 

The "Hmmm..." about honestbee

• There is a delivery charge of $10 for off-peak delivery timings if the minimum spending ($40 or $50, depending on stores) at each store is not met. 
• It is not possible to collect LINK points, rebates or discounts on purchases made with an OCBC NTUC Plus card and in-store promotions are not available. 
• Same-day delivery may not apply to some stores. When I made my order from the Family Market store on 5 Jul, 10:18 am, the earliest delivery available was the following day at 9 pm. 

Discounts for first-time sign-ups