2015 can be said to be the food O2O mode blowout of the year, prepared meals, packaged meals and semi-finished ready-made delicacy all can be delivered to their doorstep. Dozens of start-up companies operating such businesses to obtain financing, the opening of the scenery, each has its own set of convenient health food menu. Don't look at them this year, you sing my debut, with the brilliant, get ready to integrate the industry next year, to test the mighty wave crashing on a sandy shore. Because these companies hold high the banner of their business philosophy before the market did little to do the research, the initial stage and hand raised too much external financing. Now showing signs of unsustainable.
This summer, providing organic farm fresh delivery service Good Eggs announced layoffs of 140 people, accounting for about half of its total number of employees. A total of $50 million of venture capital start-ups, choose not only the substantial attrition, also ended their service in the three city of Losangeles, New York and New Orleans, concentrating on its roots in 2011 had entered the San Francisco market. Good Eggs, a representative admitted that tailored food distribution services for customers “ to get on the right track is indeed a challenge, we expand too fast, has not yet confirmed the success of the great leap forward. ”
But some industry analysts believe that Americans want a healthy and convenient dinner. So they believe that the local food distribution services still exist a lot of business opportunities. Bob, executive vice president of Technomic, a food industry research firm, expects sales to reach $30 to $5 billion by 2020. He said: “ those who reflect the unique value of the distribution services companies will still have a lot of room for growth. ”
Strong consumer demand for Food +Tech Connect founder and CEO Danielle Gould shocked. Gould is committed to building a food technology and innovation network. He said: “ at first, I think this pattern of half believe and half doubt, consumers may use the company's services one or two times, and then study their menu, I will personally go to buy ingredients. But this is not the case, our demand is surprisingly high, and this may be related to convenience. After all, it allows people to enjoy the home cooked food. ”
In the eyes of those financial investors, the United States to subvert the $1 trillion and 400 billion food industry is undoubtedly “ money ” King wide. Goldin such as: “ all the people will come down. ”
Prosperity in the field of food and beverage distribution is the epitome of the gold rush. Distribution of semi-finished goods O2O platform Blue Apron was founded in three years to raise a total of $193 million, the company's valuation is expected to increase to $2 billion. While such eye-catching achievements and fresh compared to Fresh or Hello pale into insignificance by comparison. According to data services website CrunchBase statistics, and Blue Apron was born in the same year, Hello Fresh has invested $278 million. One year earlier than the two companies came out of another O2O platform Munchery also harvested 1.25 billion financing. The other two peers Plated and Sprig also raised $56 million over the past one or two years.
Tri Tran, co-founder and CEO of Munchery, said: “ there are some high-end food services, as long as the customer wants, can be satisfied at any time. &rdquo, he believes that the smart phone has changed the pattern of food distribution market, with this mobile device, customers are more likely to operate remote ordering and payment. At present, the distribution of Munchery has covered four cities in Losangeles, San Francisco, New York and Seattle.
Munchery customers only need to click on the Internet with nutritional ingredients and ingredients of the picture of the meal, and then complete the payment on the Internet, Munchery can be placed on a single day of the distribution. The meals are distribution day in a central kitchen cooking, sent to the customer may have been cold, need to be heated. Tran said that because of the size and efficiency of the production process to ensure the efficiency of the majority of the cost of distribution services can be reduced, the company's average price per meal will not exceed $12.
This is the problem: for ordinary people, the price of food distribution is still too high. Brian Todd is president and chief executive officer, Food Institute food industry information services company he pointed out that the key to solve this problem, in fact, is the professional, to make their own characteristics, “ targeting niche markets: the supply of gluten free food, for different degrees of vegetarian food, or specifically for this kind of patients with diabetes people with special needs to provide food. &rdquo, in addition, the start-up companies should also broaden their horizons, get together in San Francisco and New York, when this metropolis, to see the second tier cities in the United States also lack of distribution services.
And this is precisely the entrepreneurial intention of Jan Leife. 2013, he set up a package distribution company in Boston Just Add Cooking. Leife is a Swedish immigrant, package delivery in his hometown has been popular for ten years. Just Add Cooking launched a week seven to choose new packages to customers, including all raw materials and pre measured components of the formula, fresh food and ingredients are taken from the local packaging, are also in the delivery day packed.
Although the cost of the company exceeded the original expectations of Leife, but compared with Europe, where the market is huge business opportunities. Leife recalls: “ I didn't realize how much I could get. But you (entrepreneurs) need to promote the introduction of investors. What would you do if you didn't have a network? ” he revealed that he spent “ a lot of time to develop interpersonal circles. ”
Later, Just Add Cooking into a nonprofit incubator CommonWealth Kitchen under the command, which has been supporting the support of more than and 50 incubators start-up companies. With its help, Leife investment institutions Fresh Source Capital and other investors successfully financing, however, the specific amount of financing involved has not yet announced.
&ldquo: to be honest, it's much more complicated than I thought &mdash (&mdash); to bring together all the ingredients, find all the ingredients, and achieve the required measurements. There are many things to do. ” Leife review.
In fact, logistics itself is a big business. From Good Eggs, a representative of the company, said: “ local food manufacturers to send orders to our food distribution center. We pack and deliver to customers. Go astray will upset the whole process, for example, if a food supplier of food processing stove is broken, then we may have to let one of them down. ”
Therefore, the most suitable for the current distribution of food companies may be recommended to slow down the pace of development, to understand their customers, but also understand that the customer knows exactly how complex their needs of the task.