Vicente DyReyes is the Founder & CEO of Craft and Savor, a New York Founder Institute portfolio company reinventing the snack food industry with a full suite of wellness food options. The startup is muscling out vending machines and junk food delivery with healthy and nutritious snackable offerings, delivered by hand to customers all throughout New York City. The company has successfully raised seed funding and is growing its distribution network at an impressive clip.
Ninety-four percent of Americans today snack at least once a day, according to global market research firm Mintel. And Millennial workers are more likely to snack up to four times a day, often replacing meals with snacks altogether. But it’s not just any snacks – the younger generation workforce increasingly demands healthy fare, rather than processed foods and empty calories. Forbes columnist Jeff Fromm reports,
Millennials bring their interest in modern food trends to snacking, leading to a desire for clean, organic, less-processed and few-ingredient product choices.
Nielsen reports that the snacking business grew $3.4 billion globally in 2017, primarily due to consumers spending more, rather than buying more. This means that snackers are willing to spend more for higher quality, healthier options. And munching on those healthier snacks away from home also represents a growing category. According to the Nielsen research,
Consumers are eating up this “on-the-go” snacking sub-category, to the tune of $1.1 Billion dollars. Their hunger has grown the category at a compound annual growth rate of 10% between 2012 and 2016.
Vicente DyReyes, the Founder of Craft and Savor, began his career as an investment banker at JP Morgan Chase. But DyReyes was not completely happy there. So he pivoted his career, leaving Wall Street behind to start a business that would leverage his passion for healthy foods. According to DyReyes,
I learned a great deal during that time [in investment banking], but I also learned that I wanted to be closer to the core of a business. I want to drive results and progress more efficiently. Entrepreneurship is a way for me to pursue my passion of bringing people back around the dinner table. Happiness at work and at home has driven my career decisions thus far.
DyReyes' first food business, Mise en Place, was a home food delivery subscription model. DyReyes ran a successful Kickstarter campaign to get Mise en Place up and running, securing 107% of his required funding.
Today, Craft and Savor represents the next iteration of Mise en Place, providing delivery of healthy snacks to buildings and offices throughout New York City.
DyReyes shifted away from focusing on the overly crowded and competitive D2C home delivery subscription market, to instead focus on workplace wellness. With the pivot, Craft and Savor received early-stage venture capital funding from Outbound Ventures.
Employees feeling their energy wane can order Craft and Savor’s Vegan “Tuna” Salad (with Grapes and Crackers) to fuel them up mid-day.
With all options priced below $10, New Yorkers can choose from fruits, crudités, snacks, salads, and snack packs, as well as healthy breakfast and lunch meal options, and have their selections delivered to their desk.
Packages of blackberries, blueberries, pineapples, or mangoes are on the menu in the fruit category, with red peppers or cucumbers and dip among the crudités. The snacks category consist of everything from nutty energy bites to Greek yogurt parfait, and Acai bowls to coconut chia pudding. “Snack packs” contain a mix of fruit, protein, and crackers or cheese, while lunch offerings include a larger portion of the snack packs.
Herbed Chicken Salad is one of the protein-rich items on the menu at Craft and Savor.
Craft and Savor promises fresh, tailored solutions for companies looking to fuel their wellness-loving workforce.
The company is taking advantage of the perfect storm in Millennial food habits: relying more on snacks than formal sit-down meals; a rising commitment to healthy, purposeful eating; and a new consumer reliance on delivery – of virtually everything. DyReyes explains,
I believe in bringing the communal spirit back to food. I love thinking of creative solutions to share that with as many people as possible.
Graduates of the Founder Institute are creating some of the world's fastest growing startups, having raised over $1.85BN in funding, and building products people love across over 200 cities worldwide.
See the most recent news from our Grads at FI.co/news, or learn more about their stories at FI.co/journey.
