For corporate America, offering workers access to healthy food is a win-win that leads to happier workers and fewer sick days. For leading tech companies like Google, it’s better if the food is delivered with a sprinkle of technology to match company culture.
On May 31, Google’s New York office partnered with upcoming innovation expo Food Loves Tech to host a #MakeFutureFood competition, where thinkers and makers were invited to present ideas to an all-star panel of judges on how corporate food service could help to increase food literacy. Entrants were asked to envision the future of the workplace pantry.
Kani, a culinary technology consultant, believes Sous Labs could use a socially-connected app, and radio frequency identification (RFID) tags placed on food items to track what employees are consuming in the workplace. Sous labs would then analyze the data with machine learning, and use it to satisfy worker preferences. For example if tea is a big favorite at one part of the workplace, Sous Labs could deploy a smart cooking appliance like the smart tea maker Teforia.
RFID tracking has long carried the promise of improving transparency for food supply chains, but the expense has been an obstacle, particularly for cheaper items.
Kani said he believed tags could be had for as little as 2–5 cents, and a transponders to measure consumption for about $20 each. At these prices a pilot could be done with a few thousand dollars.
Bosquet said Sous Labs puts trust in the workers by empowering them to make good decisions.
Positivity and Wellness
Eating well is a daily—even minute to minute—challenge for most of us. The judges reminded the panelists about the importance of positive solutions.
Danielle Gould, competition judge and founder of digital media site Food + Tech Connect, said, “If you are lucky enough to have a business that has happiness at its core, quadruple down on it.”
One such positive concept that would help stressed out office workers make the most of their day was presented by Daicha Perkins, co-founder of Picnycs.
Her company delivers a picnic, complete with a basket, blanket, food, and drink, to major city parks. “You have just a few minutes to enjoy your lunch. See you at the park,” said Perkins during the competition.
“I love the vibe. This is definitely a happy product. Workplaces need that,” said judge Marcus Samuelsson, chef and restaurateur of Food Network fame.
AVA, meaning Artificial (Yet Natural) Intelligence, is an early stage company looking to develop a smart wrist band that would track stress, emotional states, feelings, and attitudes, using wireless bluetooth technology.
It would be your friend, your dietician, your exercise coach, and your camera, said Dennis Katz-Nelson, founder of AVA, at the competition.
Samuelsson questioned Katz-Nelson about the concept, which would invariably spit out recommendations such as “eat salad because you ate a chocolate bar earlier,” and so on.
“Do we really want another indicator of what we are not doing?” It’s depressing, Samuelsson said.
Easy Access
For Adrian Chong, in charge of customer experience for Toronto, Canada-based delivery-only restaurant Feast, improving workplace wellness is about making healthy food more accessible to workers. Chong says Feast can deliver high quality lunches and dinners to workers within 12 minutes.
The company’s biggest competitor, Uber Eats, is “hit or miss,” according to Chong. So is its other major Canadian competitor, Just Eats. “It’s another food aggregator.” Companies that rely on existing restaurants to complete take-out orders, while still serving the front of the house, are at the mercy of those restaurants.
An average worker’s day is fluid, and filled with meetings. It’s frustrating to order food and have it arrive unpredictably. Feast wants to make the choice to eat healthy easy. “This is all we do and all that we care about,” explained Chong.
Feast sources ingredients locally and offers workplace menu customization. While the team is still working to reveal full transparency for its sourcing, the company aspires to make a food story available for each ingredient.
The company, which launched just 5 months ago, and employs about 80 people, is an end-to-end service provider in that it cooks all the food in a central commissary, and employs its own delivery crew. Consistent with its mission, its delivery staff use customized Danish cargo bikes and BMW i3 electric vehicles to navigate Toronto’s dense downtown corridors.
Chong said in a telephone interview that food leaders in corporate environments already feel strongly that food can add to overall wellness in the workplace, and keep people healthy and productive.
