JUNK FOOD NO MORE
Machines get fresh
At some point, when the vaccine for COVID-19 has been distributed and the pandemic slows to a crawl, folks will return to offices around B.C. en masse.
Many will also return to workplaces with tired vending machines crammed with junk food and soda pop, but a Vancouver startup is aiming to change that.
UpMeals SmartVending Solution on Thursday launched its refrigerated vending-machine meal service, the first of its kind in the province.
The company offers clients plant-based meals or plates with locally sourced, higher welfare meat and other protein sources, along with fresh juices and nutritional snacks.
It was created by well-known local caterer Drew Munro and Ryan Angel, a Red Seal chef and registered holistic nutritionist.
Munro admits launching during a pandemic isn't ideal, but he is confident the business will succeed, noting that now more than ever people want to have a handsfree meal solution at work.
Companies can use this technology as a way to offer customized, healthy and “most importantly, safe meals for their employees that can be accessed whenever they need them,” said Munro, the company's CEO.
SmartVending units have already been installed at several businesses in downtown Vancouver and the company is planning to announce more partners in the coming weeks, he said.
“We are planning installations over December and January, obviously COVID is making that a challenge ... what we're doing is positioning this technology and this solution as part of their safe return to work strategy,” he said.
Munro said many of their clients are opting to replace their junk food vending machines with their healthy alternative.
“This is what we are trying to do. We want to disrupt the traditional vending machine model, which for the most part serve unhealthy, processed food.”
The vending machine market is a $24-billion-a-year industry, and is known for serving unhealthy but convenient food. Healthy vending is not a new concept. Four years ago, Postmedia featured another healthy vending startup called Fresh Now.
However, what makes UpMeals unique is that the vending interface and meals are all white-labelled, so it can suit a company's brand. Then a chef creates custom meals for the company's machines based on what the employees enjoy. They use software to provide automation for all levels of the creative, production, ordering and delivery processes. Users can monitor their SmartVending machine remotely, create plans for meals nearing their expiry date and build menus based on the popularity of food items.
The software tracks the food trends and alerts UpMeals to which items are not selling so it can monitor the stock levels of the machines to minimize waste.
UpMeals delivers the food, which is in compostable or recyclable containers, weekly to the machines and vendors set the meal prices.
They are more affordable than traditional catering and branding, with an example of cost being about $7 to $10 for a salad bowl, according to Munro, who has worked in catering for more than a decade.
“They are on average 20 to 40 per cent more cost effective than the per-person cost for a traditional catering delivery,” he said. “We are also more cost effective than a meal-delivery app.”
Meals that are nearing their shelf life can be discounted or donated to local food banks. The company has partnered with Vancouver Food Runners to deliver expired but still safe-to-eat meals to food banks and shelters.
“These are products that have passed optimal shelf freshness but are still perfectly safe, edible, fresh, chef-prepared items,” said Munro.
UpMeals recently won the Shibuya Food Tech Challenge for Social Innovation in Japan with plans to licence its vending machine technology all over the world.