The health-conscious consumers look beyond the label: they want to know everything about where the raw materials came from, the product’s composition, the manufacturing process, right through to the company’s corporate responsibility projects.
LITTLE CUSTOMERS, BIG PROFITS
Customers want to feel that the choices they make play a part in protecting the planet and that extends to the food delivery that the pandemic has risen to new heights.
Certainly pet and baby supplies are also part of it. These days, pet food delivery is an extremely competitive industry -- there are seemingly more online options than there are breeds of dogs. And restaurants can benefit from it. Some dog food delivery services are fancy -- we’re talking homemade dog food that might seem more sophisticated than the food you feed yourself.
But many of them are affordable too, with some of these pet food services starting at as little as $1 per day for quality dog chow. Most of the fresh dog food delivery services use natural ingredients that are tailored to your pup’s dietary needs. In some cases, the dog food is developed with the input of a veterinary nutritionist and without “anti-nutrition” fillers like corn, wheat and soy or any artificial preservatives. There are plenty of fresh, unprocessed dog food options and even raw dog food options for the pickiest of pets and those keeping their furry friend on a niche dog diet.
For the discerning dog owner who is all about those farm-to-table meals and the health and well-being of their doggo, this dog food delivery service might be a perfect food pick. Spot and Tango’s human-grade dog food is made from locally farmed fresh ingredients in New York, in small batches with no artificial additives, preservatives or fillers in the food. The Farmer’s dog and Nom Nom are also well known companies delivering fresh-made pet’s food.
From healthy meal delivery services to subscription boxes for babies, healthy food to feed your little one has never been easier for Londoners.
Healthy eating for kids is an obsession, and a parental one: from the moment our child is given the option to taste food other than breastmilk or formula, we want them to eat the most nutritious, colourful and balanced meals possible. Ideally everything will also be organic, locally sourced and sustainable, lovingly prepared by hand, from scratch, with as much variation as possible at every mealtime. Who can’t argue that? Who can make it happen?
Restaurants have the answer by copying models from small companies.
A plant-based baby food subscription service, Mamamade ticks a lot of boxes for parents looking for nutritionally high foods without any nasties, as well as for unusual and exciting flavours for little ones - the veggie and wholegrain pouches include herbs and spices to develop a sophisticated palate from day one. You can order puree-only six-month-old meals, finger foods for older children, or a combination of both, which will arrive every two or four weeks and fit snugly in your freezer until baby is ready to eat them.
Little Tummy, the award-winning baby food brand that uses cold-pressure processing to keep meals nutrient-heavy and flavourful, is now available on Deliveroo. The brainchild of Nadine Hellman and Dr Sophie Niedermaier-Patramani, Little Tummy dishes are centered around vegetables, like red lentils, mango and sweet potato or chickpeas, cauliflower and kale. If you’re looking for a meal delivery box for babies, then Little Eats has you covered. They’ll deliver portioned, organic ingredients for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day of the week, along with meal-planning ideas and weaning tips, so you’ll have everything you need for nutritious meals without the stress of planning, and food wastage will be minimal.
DON'T BE IN THE DARK
Dark kitchens are the hot trend in business innovation right now. Since Trevis Kalanick, ex-Uber CEO recently invested $150 million of personal cash in such a startup, with a further Saudi Arabia investment, of $400 million everyone is taking notice. But if you’re just taking notice, you’re late to the game. Dark kitchens — also called in a less negative way « ghost » or « cloud » kitchens — have been around since 2016 in China. After a four year explosive food delivery craze hitting hard most of tier I cities in China, we are talking $80 billion market growing 20-30% yearly. Not too bad. But what they are, and how they work?.
They offer fully equipped professional kitchens in different neighborhoods, that you can rent by the night or the month. In some case, you can even rent the staff (provided you train them with your menu). So the restaurant is now unbundled as a physical cloud operation.
Juan Diego Gaitán, co-founder of Food Craft and Analú, makes burgers and desserts in his kitchen in Madrid, just like he would in a restaurant. The difference is he doesn’t have a dinning room, waiters or even his own street level shop. His meals go straight from his stoves to the doorstep.
He rents a so called ‘dark kitchen.’ It’s a cooking space in a shared warehouse aimed at the food delivery businesses. Due to Covid-19 restrictions the industry is booming.
Beyond Spain, Stockholm-based Curb secures €3.2 million to create the world’s largest virtual food court.
Portuguese startup Kitch, who is building delivery-first kitchens to house a selection of the city’s favorite restaurants and most creative chefs, has announced today closing a €1 million pre-seed financing round.
Kitch was founded in 2019 by Rui Bento and Nuno Rodrigues, two former executives of Uber who launched the ridesharing and food delivery company in Portugal. The duo wants to enable everyone in the city to have dishes from their favorite restaurants at home, while allowing these restaurants to serve the city from delivery-first kitchens.
But probably the biggest player in the region is Taster. Taster has so far five digital restaurant brands. Each one’s based on a different cuisine, with a unique menu and identity built around it. Some have been created with renowned chefs, others developed in house – all share the Taster obsession with unforgettable food.
Started out in Paris, they’re now in three European capital cities, with HQs and multiple locations across London and Madrid, they also have digital restaurants in Lille, Rouen and Versailles – with more cities to come.
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