I was so hangry I felt like crying. My busy work day had meant half a breakfast, a total skip of lunch and I had to rush off to an after-work appointment with no time to stop into a cafe. At the station I scanned the vending machine shelves: chocolate, chips, and a token bag of sugary nuts – nothing I wanted. Why wasn’t there anything healthy?
A few weeks later I was contacted by Laura Anderson, who together with her partner Dane Blackburn, created The Füd Revolution – a company producing specialised vending machines stocked with salads and healthy snacks. Such a wonderful idea.
I asked Laura to tell me a bit more about The Füd Revolution:
Firstly, can you tell me how you came up with the idea of The FüD Revolution
The FüD Revolution was developed by myself and my boyfriend, Dane. We were both very busy running our own businesses and finding that we didn’t have much time left on weekends and after work to do lots of meal prep and organising, but we still wanted to eat healthy during the week. This was particularly tricky for me as I am vegan and I have an auto-immune condition and Hashimotos thyroditis, which has been linked to digestion issues, so I am always trying different dietary things, like going gluten-free, or minimising my fructose intake, etc. To be able to find fast and convenient genuinely healthy food options that met these criteria was near impossible!! The more I investigated different food options and ‘diets’ I became more interested how other people were dealing with this issue.. And the answer was that there was no readily available solution for time-poor people with different dietary requirements! So Dane and I decided we solve the problem ourselves, and The FüD Revolution was born! The idea of the vending machine evolved because we wanted to be able to reach lots of different people and and communities in a very efficient way, whilst also keeping costs down.
What kind of products can people find in your vending machines?
Our vending machines are stocked with an array of fresh salads and snacks, made using seasonal produce from local Aussie farmers. A selection of between 4-6 salads are available at any one time from our vending machines. You can also add extra protein to your salad (free-range eggs, pulled free-range chook, or house-made falafel). we also have a snack range for smaller in between meals or breakfast snacks (our paleo granola served with natural organic yoghurt and raspberry coulis is a big hit!) All meals are designed with the help of a nutritionist to ensure they are a complete balanced meal, with all the right proportions of carbs, proteins and good fats, and no added sugars.
Salads are $10 and snacks range from $4-$7.
We are also going to be adding some healthy drinks and packaged snacks to our vending outlets in the near future too.
How do you make sure your salads stay fresh? And what do you do with the leftovers?
We make our salads fresh every day (we get up really early!!) and we pack our salads into neat little airtight plastic (BPA-free) mason jars. Although rather than making up all the salads in a big batch and then shoving them into the jars (which would make everything get soggy throughout the day), we carefully pack all the individual ingredients of the salad specially into the jars in layers and pack the dressing separate into a little container that sits on top of the salad) so that the freshness is maintained inside the jar until you are ready to shake it up and eat! The airtight lids mean that your salad will stay fresh and crispy even a couple of days after it has been purchased. However, we serve our salads fresh daily. Any salads left at the end of the day that haven’t been sold are donated to our friends at Homeless of Melbourne, who help us distribute the food to people who financially disadvantaged and/or experiencing homelessness.
I received some salads to try. They are beautifully fresh and layered to avoid soggy leaves (a crime against salad-kind), with separate little pots of dressing.
They have recently expanded their range to included granola and yoghurt tubs and healthy snacks. You can find the flagship vending machine at the front of the foodcourt at Westfield Doncaster Shopping Centre. There is also a range of products available at the HoMie Popup* Store in Melbourne Central Shopping Centre.
Now all we need to do is get behind this great little startup so they can install more vending machines to avoid any more hangry commutes.
What would you like to see available in a vending machine?
*The HoMie Popup Store is well-worth a visit. For every item of new clothing purchased at the store, an item of new clothing is given to those facing homelessness.
Disclosure: I received some salads to try but was not paid for this post. I chose to write it to support a business that I am excited about.
Willunga Wino
August 12, 2015 at 12:28 pm (10 months ago)I just love this whole concept.
I think it would work so, so well at any airport anywhere. Airport food options are woeful and usually limited to greasy junk.
Nicole Bilson
August 23, 2015 at 10:36 pm (10 months ago)Oh gosh I’m with you there. So many applications for this wonderful idea.
Rebecca@Figs and Pigs
August 13, 2015 at 6:10 am (10 months ago)Wow what a great idea and they look so cute in the little jars.
Nicole Bilson
August 23, 2015 at 10:35 pm (10 months ago)Such a clever one she is!
Pug @ Pug's Modern Life
August 15, 2015 at 9:22 pm (10 months ago)*SCREAMS INCOHERENTLY*
WHO DO I HAVE TO BEG TO GET ONE OF THESE AT MONASH UNIVERSITY’S CLAYTON CAMPUS????
(I mean, “literally everywhere” is the ideal, but given I spend 8-16 hours of every day at Monash Clayton AND THEY DON’T HAVE A SALAD BAR, I can afford to beg a little more specifically 😉
Nicole Bilson
August 23, 2015 at 10:33 pm (10 months ago)Email Laura. Seriously, it’s worth a shot
Jem @ Lost in Utensils
August 17, 2015 at 6:10 pm (10 months ago)That is such a cool idea and I’m also a sucker for cute packaging and healthier options.
Nicole Bilson
August 23, 2015 at 10:30 pm (10 months ago)I just cannot wait until they are more widely available.
Emma
August 18, 2015 at 11:00 am (10 months ago)This is absolutely brilliant.
Nicole Bilson
August 23, 2015 at 9:45 pm (10 months ago)Isn’t it!