Grace Ashiru
Securing nutritious and prompt meals is a hurdle in the dynamic corporate scene, especially in areas like Nigeria with its infamous traffic jams. The luxury of receiving a freshly made meal without departing the office becomes invaluable for professionals immersed in continuous appointments.
Here’s where Pocketfood steps in, offering a fresh approach to how businesses address the nutritional needs of their workforce through its avant-garde kitchen-as-a-service approach.
Unveiling Pocket Food
The founders’ daily challenges influenced Pocketfood’s conception of their regular job routines. A specific incident was the catalyst for this innovative solution. Oluwabunmi Balogun, the COO, shared that the initial spark was when the founder grappled with the lack of diverse meal choices in her work vicinity. She identified a gap where many platforms were repetitive and didn’t cater to distinct health conditions.
Promoted as “cost-effective daily meals with seamless reordering”, Pocketfood tackles logistical hurdles head-on. The platform curates health-conscious meals suited for both regular staff and top-tier executives. The Pocketfood application is laden with features, showcasing an extensive array of delectable meals tailored to personal dietary guidelines, delivered directly to one’s office at lunch.
Additionally, by overseeing meal logistics, businesses can channel their energy on primary tasks, creating a symbiotic relationship between the enterprise and its workforce. The user-centric design lets employees cherry-pick their weekly dishes, promising an enjoyable midday meal experience.
Pocketfood’s Specialized Services
Whether you’re stationed at the office or telecommuting, Pocketfood commits to eradicating the dilemma of meal decisions by delivering appetizing, fresh dishes every noon. Their digital food hub boasts an impressive selection of meal alternatives, catering to a spectrum of palates, be it lovers of local recipes, international culinary adventures, vegetarian diets, or wellness-centric meals.
Varied Culinary Choices: Pocketfood rolls out an assortment of menu blueprints based on individual likings. From cherished local treats to global culinary delights, vegetarian selections, and health-centric meals, there’s an option for all.
Tailored Weekly Schemes: An active plan encompasses the demands of five working days, with prices oscillating between ₦10,000 to ₦15,000, potentially reaching ₦20,000 or beyond. The foundational plan starts at ₦8,000 weekly due to its diverse meal permutations.
Personalized Meal Assembl: Patrons can sift through a broad spectrum of primary courses, add-ons, accompaniments, broths, protein-centric items, and invigorating beverages, allowing them to design their quintessential meal blueprint.
Order En Masse: After finalizing a weekly culinary blueprint, patrons can requisition multiple servings, ensuring a gastronomic voyage that resonates with groups with analogous food inclinations.
Meal Dispatch Details
For now, Pocketfood’s services are confined to Lagos, but there’s an ambition to branch out to Abuja and Port Harcourt. Deliveries are orchestrated by an external agency, incurring a modest weekly fee. Patrons can finetune delivery timings and even reschedule, albeit at an additional cost.
In today’s era, where well-being is paramount, Pocketfood could potentially be the linchpin for fostering healthier eating habits among Nigerians. For corporate entities, it translates to cultivating a brigade of vivacious, health-conscious personnel.
Pocketfood’s Stance in the Competitive Meal Delivery Arena
A plethora of platforms facilitate online meal dispatches. Yet, Oluwabunmi Balogun, COO of Pocketfood, accentuates that platforms like Jumia Food and Glovo offer convenience but fall short in addressing niche dietary requisites. Their offerings often sideline health-centric options, placing palate pleasure over nutritional value. Pocketfood’s ethos transcends mere food dispatch; it underscores the promotion of healthful eating habits. Alarmingly, data from 2019 revealed that 19% of mortalities in Nigeria were tethered to cardiovascular maladies stemming from detrimental dietary habits.
For those with a keen focus on health and specific dietary mandates, platforms akin to Pocketfood proffer enhanced control and customization, vouching for a harmonious and nutritious diet all week.
Blueprint for Expansion
While Pocketfood’s current operations are anchored in Lagos, there’s a roadmap to burgeon into locales like Abuja, Port Harcourt, and even international territories. The pipeline also has a strategy to internalize the delivery mechanism rather than outsourcing to third-party entities.
