The Rainy Season Almost Broke Me. Aki Saved My Business.

How vendor Priscila used Aki's pre-order and delivery tools to survive the slow season and emerge stronger than ever.

2025-08-14 — Priscila Santos

February and March are brutal for beach vendors in the south of Brazil. Rain, cold fronts, half-empty beaches. Last year I almost gave up.

The Breaking Point

Three weeks of rain in a row. My savings were almost gone. I was selling maybe 10 items a day on the rare dry afternoons. My rent was due. I had a daughter starting school.

The Pivot

An Aki community manager reached out to vendors in my region with an idea: use the pre-order feature to offer delivery to nearby residential buildings and apartments. Beach vendors don't just have to serve the beach — we can serve the neighborhood.

I updated my profile to include a delivery radius of 1.5km and posted on my Aki vendor page that I was delivering during the rainy season. Within three days I had regular customers in four apartment buildings who ordered my fish cakes and tapioca every weekend morning.

Coming Out Stronger

When the sun came back in April, I had a built-in customer base that was 60 people larger than before the rain. Some of my delivery customers became beach regulars. The rainy season almost broke me — but it forced me to grow in ways I never would have otherwise.