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Fresh food vending operation debuts plastic-free machines, chef-crafted meals in New York City

Fresh.Bowl, a fresh food vending service provider that features plastic-free machines, launched its first machines throughout New York City following a six-month pilot.

Fresh.Bowl custom built its vending machine to provide a seamless experience and allow customers to return jars and utensils.

June 24, 2019 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

Whoever thought one has to sacrifice convenience to have quality and sustainability never heard of Fresh.Bowl, a fresh food vending service that features chef-prepared, nutritious meals in plastic-free machines.

Following a 6-month pilot at WeWork's Soho West location, Fresh.Bowl has introduced its custom-built machines to locations throughout New York City.

The machines dispense meals in glass jars that customers can return to close the loop on packaging waste. The company's first locations include Fulton Street Station, Droga5 headquarters and a midtown New York office.

Paul Christophe, CTO, Chloe Vichot, co-founder and head of food innovation, and Zachary Lawless, co-founder, have a mission of nutrition and sustainability.

Founded by Chloe Vichot, the founder of West Village cafe, Ancolie, and entrepreneur Zachary Lawless, Fresh.Bowl's mission is to increase access to nutritious and sustainable meals while reducing waste generated by traditional vending machines. With nearly 40% of all plastic in the U.S. used for single-use packaging, Fresh.Bowl seeks to reduce waste through its glass jars that can be reused up to 100 times.

A fully automated service

"Fresh.Bowl provides a fully automated service for both building owners and customers," Vichot told Kiosk Marketplace. "For the building, this is a seamless process as we restock the machine with fresh products daily. For the customer, the service is fully automated, including the jar return and credit redemption."

Made from scratch daily in the company's kitchen, using local seasonal ingredients, Fresh.Bowl's menu features breakfast, lunch, snacks and drink options to meet any lifestyle need including gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free and vegan. Vichot creates each recipe working with Willow Jarosh, a registered dietitian.

A sustainable mission

Fresh.Bowl meal jars are recyclable.

"Growing up in France not only inspired my cooking, but also shaped my own understanding and vision for sustainability," Vichot said. "When I moved to New York, I was shocked at the amount of waste being generated from on-the-go packaging. I knew there had to be a better way to provide nutritious meals and inspire people to incorporate reusable containers in their lifestyle."

"It's our responsibility as a modern-day food company to both positively impact our community and minimize our impact on the environment," said Lawless. "Most grab-and-go food options today are generic, mass produced, highly processed and over packaged. Fresh.Bowl is offering a more thoughtful approach as we never sacrifice convenience for quality or sustainability."Each Fresh.Bowl serving ranges from 180-675 calories and retails for $6-$12 per jar. Customers who return the glass jar receive a $2 credit toward their next purchase.

"We visit each machine daily to restock food and utensils, as well as pick up any empty jars to be cleaned and reused in future machines," Vichot said.

A seamless customer experience

The customer can view the menu and ingredient information on the machine's touchscreen and search by meal category; breakfast, lunch, snacks, etc. The menu lists all nutrition, ingredients and allergens per meal.

"At a Fresh.Bowl machine, a customer will first see our display window showing all jars filled with fresh and delicious meals," Vichot said. "When a customer is ready to order, they simply tap interact with the screen that says 'tap the screen to get the greens' with lifestyle shots of the products. Soon the customer will be able to pre-purchase any item on our app/website and pick it up at the machine."

Customers can pay with mobile payment, NFC credit and debit cards, and prepaid cards such as office and university cards. The machine does not take cash.

The company custom built the kiosks to properly display its meals and allow customers to return the jars.

"We have remote access to each of our machines for live reporting to review sales and inventory at any time," Vichot said.

Companies wanting to offer Fresh.Bowl can request a kiosk via email from the Fresh.Bowl website.

A promising reception

A customer enjoys a Fresh.Bowl meal on the go.

The machine proved itself in a 6-month test at the WeWork shared work space's Soho West location.

"At WeWork, we make a concerted effort to support early stage start-ups with forward-thinking concepts and products," Kofi Ampadu, a labs manager at WeWork Labs, said in a press release. "Fresh.Bowl's vending machines, which were piloted at our Varick Street location for six months, proved to be just what our hungry (figuratively and literally) members were looking for: fresh meals, served sustainably."

Droga5 is the company's first private office space partner, offering Fresh.Bowl as a premium amenity to employees. Fulton Street Center, Fresh.Bowl's first public location, is a partnership of the Metropolitan Transit Authority and Westfield World Trade Center.

"Westfield's shops and restaurants showcase the very best New York has to offer, bringing an array of innovative food experiences and dining options to Lower Manhattan," Shari Hyman, Westfield World Trade Center's general manager and vice president, said in the press release. "Fresh.Bowl's unique take on vending machines will delight our visitors looking for plant-based, convenient meals to enjoy on-site or on-the-go."

Fresh.Bowl plans to expand to at least 10 additional locations throughout New York City by the end of the summer.

Photos courtesy of Fresh.Bowl.

About Elliot Maras

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Elliot Maras is the editor of Kiosk Marketplace and Vending Times. He brings three decades covering unattended retail and commercial foodservice.