Tag: SmartVending Machine

UpMeals Announces Partnership with Sodexo Canada

May 1, 2023

Vancouver, Canada, May 1st, 2023 – UpMeals, a leading Canadian food technology startup, is proud to announce a strategic partnership with Sodexo Canada, a leader in the food services and facilities management industry. This collaboration will empower Sodexo to leverage UpMeals’ innovative technology to enhance the accessibility of healthy, nutritious meals across various sectors, including universities, corporate settings, and hospitals.

UpMeals is known for its innovative SmartVending machines that offer fresh food options to consumers 24/7, helping to bridge gaps in the availability of nutritious meals, particularly during off-hours. Customers can choose from a wide range of items, such as wraps, salads, entrees, and juices, through a user-friendly 49″ touchscreen interface. UpMeals SmartVending machines have been deployed in high-traffic locations like Vancouver International Airport, the University of British Columbia (UBC), Simon Fraser University (SFU), and other notable sites in British Columbia.

The company also employs proprietary AI-driven technology to create customized healthy meal plans for organizations, offered through their automated modern catering platform and wholesale and retail partnerships. By automating processes like research and development, CFIA compliance, and production workflows, UpMeals can provide an extensive array of meal options catering to diverse dietary preferences and customer needs. All meals are produced in UpMeals’ HACCP-compliant production facility in Vancouver, ensuring the highest quality and safety standards.

Initially focusing on the British Columbia market, the partnership aims to expand into other regions of Canada in the future. By teaming up with UpMeals, Sodexo will enhance its nutritious grab ‘n go meal offerings and create added value for its customers.

Drew Munro, Founder and CEO of UpMeals, said: “We are very excited to work with Sodexo, a global leader in food services. Together, we will leverage our technology and expertise to revolutionize the way healthy, nutritious meals are delivered and consumed in Canada.”

Martin Lapointe, SVP of Operations, Sodexo Canada Campus, commented on the partnership: “We are thrilled to partner with UpMeals, a company that shares our commitment to innovation and excellence in the food services industry. Sodexo Campus is excited to be the first sector in our organization to implement this innovative technology as students, faculty, and staff are always looking for healthy food choices. This partnership will ensure the campuses we serve are equipped with healthy, delicious options 24/7.”

The collaboration between UpMeals and Sodexo Canada aligns with their shared commitment to sustainability. UpMeals packages its products in sustainable packaging, reducing the environmental impact of their operations, and repurposes unsold meals to local charities, creating a minimal waste operation. This approach supports Sodexo’s sustainability goals and reinforces their commitment to responsible business practices.

View the complete release here:
https://ca.sodexo.com/media/news-releases/sodexo-canada-partners-upmeals.html

About Sodexo Canada

Sodexo delivers a wide range of customized solutions, designed to optimize work and living environments. Sodexo has been providing food and facilities management services in Canada for over 40 years, with a focus on enhancing safety, work process and well-being. Sodexo is a market leader in Canada. Sodexo has been recognized as a top employer for the past seven consecutive years. Sodexo is proud to have created the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation, an independent charitable organization that has raised over $3 million to fight hunger and donated more than one million meals to at-risk youth across Canada since 2007. Sodexo is included in the CAC Next 20, CAC 40 ESG, FTSE 4 Good and DJSI indices.

Key Figures:

7,000 employees

Recipient of Canada’s Greenest Employer Awards 2023

Recipient of Canada’s Diversity & Inclusion Employer Awards 2021

1 million consumers served daily

About UpMeals:

UpMeals is a Vancouver-based food technology company on a mission to make healthy, nutritious meals available 24/7. Innovative SmartVending machines, modern corporate catering, and private label solutions provide custom, healthy, sustainably packaged meals that meet the highest food safety standards. UpMeals uses proprietary AI-driven software to create their custom meal solutions and reduce food waste. Using the data collected from their platform, UpMeals uses its software to improve menu offerings based on user feedback and popularity.

Media Contacts

Stephanie Aubin
Director of Communications, Sodexo Canada
stephanie.aubin@sodexo.com
+1 514-402-1839

Jieun Jeong
Marketing and Communications, UpMeals
jieun@upmeals.ca

UpMeals Delivers Record Q3 Revenues + Profitability Update

October 6, 2022

Vancouver, BC, October 6th, 2022 – UpMeals is very pleased to announce another record performance in Q3 2022, with revenues growing 148% YoY from Q3 2021. September was also a single-month revenue record for the company.

The company posted revenues of $690K in Q3 2022, beating their forecast and increasing 148% from Q3 2021’s performance. September 2022 revenues alone were $265K, beating their August 2022 performance by 9%.

The company recently installed 5 SmartVending machines at Vancouver International Airport and completed a deployment at Capilano University. Additionally, the company also became the main provider of healthy, ready to eat meals for Lululemon’s Vancouver headquarters via their partnership with Compass Group.

UpMeals’ management is forecasting profitability for the company by Q1 of 2023 on the back of strong B2B partnerships and upcoming contracts, improved operational efficiencies and facility upgrades.

“While UpMeals continues to deliver consistent top line growth, our leadership team is also focused on achieving profitability and strong operating cashflows”, said UpMeals CEO Drew Munro, “This year’s Q3 saw us not only achieve record revenues, but significantly improved Gross Profit and reduced operating expenses. Our leadership team has created a clear road map to achieving positive cash flow based on our upcoming contracts and we look forward to continuing to drive the value of the company for our shareholders.”

*Financial results are from management prepared statements and are unaudited

UpMeals currently has limited availability remaining in their current financing round. To confirm investment allocations or top ups, please email:

Drew Munro
drew@upmeals.ca

UpMeals SmartVending Machines to receive AI Upgrades

April 11, 2022

Vancouver, BC, July 27th, 2022 – UpMeals is pleased to share that it has been accepted into Durham College’s Hub for Applied Research in Artificial Intelligence for Business Solutions (AI Hub), a centre of excellence that enables small- and medium-sized enterprises to develop and adopt complex AI solutions to improve productivity and efficiency. The AI Hub offers industry partners access to technical expertise, state-of-the-art facilities and platforms, and student talent.

“We’re thrilled to be one of only ten businesses accepted into the AI Hub program this year,” said Drew Munro, Co-founder and CEO of UpMeals. “This experience will provide us with invaluable research, data and modeling as to how we can expand the AI within our machines to better service our customers.”

The AI Hub will provide approximately 240 hours of service over 12 weeks from students and research associates to assist UpMeals with early-stage research and development to create an AI project prototype, accelerating the feasibility of a proposed AI solution, the quality of the datasets and development opportunities. This will result in a working prototype, supporting code and other materials to execute and scale the prototype for commercialization.

“We look forward to expanding the AI capabilities of our SmartVending machines, offering tailored recommendations on each of our machines depending on item popularity, time of date, consumption trends and more. Just as a streaming service recommends programming based on your history, soon our SmartVending machine interfaces will offer similar functionality to get the right product to the right user to drive sales and reduce waste,” continues Munro.

UpMeals had previously received advisory services and funding support from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) to develop and bring to market the UpMeals App.

About UpMeals

UpMeals is a food accessibility platform on a mission to make healthy, nutritious meals available 24/7. Innovative SmartVending machines, direct to consumer eCommerce, and B2B solutions provide custom, healthy, sustainably packaged meals that meet the highest food safety standards. UpMeals uses proprietary AI-driven software to create their custom meal solutions and reduce food waste. Using the data collected from their platform, UpMeals uses their software to improve menu offerings based on user feedback and popularity.

About the AI Hub

Housed within Durham College’s Office of Research Services, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the AI Hub offers small and medium enterprises a much-needed access point to the rapidly growing field of AI. By offering industry partners access to technical expertise, state-of-the-art facilities and platforms, and student talent, businesses can uncover valuable insights while receiving intelligent and autonomous solutions that increase organizational productivity and growth. The AI Hub services are supported in part by funding from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP). Companies interested in how AI and digital transformation can enhance their businesses are encouraged to visit www.durhamcollege.ca/theAIHub or contact the AI Hub team directly via email or phone at 905.721.3223.

UpMeals currently has an open financing round and is inviting investors to participate in the opportunity.

To download the deck and terms, please visit the link below:

UpMeals Investor’s Deck

UpMeals’ First Publicly Available SmartVending Machine Launches In Squamish

September 9, 2021

PlantX branded SmartVending Machine in Squamish

We are pleased to share that our first public-facing and plant-based vending machine is available in Squamish, British Columbia. This installation is a part of our expanded partnership with PlantX Life Inc. (“PlantX”), an e-commerce, plant-based food delivery company. Joining the 15,000 square foot campus, this machine will provide customers access to plant-based food, 24/7.

“We’ve seen an incredible uptake on our delicious plant-based meals in our SmartVending machine since it was installed at Locavore in Squamish,” said Drew Munro, Co-Founder and CEO of UpMeals. “Our plant-based food options have always been popular with our customers and this ease of access means our meals will be available to those who are searching for something healthy, delicious and sustainable, at any time of day.”

Continued Munro, “We have a fantastic partnership with PlantX helping them to serve the plant-based community delicious and ready-to-eat meals in Canada and soon into the US. The SmartVending machine has logged thousands of interactions and has sold out of salads, juices, wraps and entrees on a regular basis. We look forward to continuing to reach more customers through our unique food-technology solution”

Customers can choose from a selection of up to 35 meals, breakfast items, wraps, salad, juices and snacks. Each item is individually packaged in sustainable material and refrigerated in the temperature controlled SmartVending machine.

Currently, all other SmartVending machines are located at private businesses, so this is the first machine that allows meals to be purchased by the general public. Customers are encouraged to visit the PlantX campus located at 1861 Mamquam Rd, Squamish.

About PlantX Life Inc.

As the digital face of the plant-based community, PlantX’s platform is the one-stop shop for everything plant-based. With its fast-growing category verticals, the Company offers customers across North America more than 10,000 plant-based products. In addition to offering meal and indoor plant deliveries, the Company currently has plans underway to expand its product lines to include cosmetics, clothing and its own water brand — but the business is not limited to an e-commerce platform. The Company uses its digital platform to build a community of like-minded consumers and, most importantly, provide education. Its successful enterprise is being built and fortified on partnerships with top nutritionists, chefs and brands. The Company eliminates the barriers to entry for anyone interested in living a plant-based lifestyle and thriving in a longer, healthier and happier life.

Media

Madeleine Davidson

maddie@madeleinedavidsonstrategies.com

604.358.0011

Larissa Dundon

larissa@larissadundon.com

604.649.5506

SFU Launches UpMeals Healthy, Sustainable SmartVending Solution for Students

July 6, 2021

UpMeals is excited to announce that we have partnered with Simon Fraser University (SFU) to install a SmartVending machine at their Burnaby campus this fall. The machine will provide 24/7 access to healthy, sustainable meal options for students and serve as an alternative to costly meal delivery services and restaurants in the area. SFU will install their first UpMeals SmartVending machine at the West Mall Centre, one of the busiest and most accessible locations on the Burnaby campus, with plans for more machines in the future. The installation will coincide with the move back to in-person classes and services on campus.

The UpMeals SmartVending install addresses a critical need to provide safe, accessible, healthy food options for students available around the clock. Accessible 24/7, UpMeals provides a nutritious choice when other options are unavailable or closed. And, with meal delivery services making many trips to SFU campuses daily, sometimes delivering as little as a single item carrying a hefty carbon footprint, the UpMeals SmartVending machines will alleviate some of the environmental impact. SFU has also partnered with UpMeals and will be donating their surplus of unsold food through UpMeals’ partnership with the Vancouver Food Runners program to help eliminate food waste.

The menu offerings provided in the SmartVending machines will be curated based on a focused survey provided to groups of students identifying the types of cuisine they would like to see, and the goals and benefits they want to achieve with the food available to them. Details of the survey will include dietary and cuisine preferences and eating habits. SFU will then be able to monitor the popularity of certain items and identify buying trends to optimize their menu offering.

To support this expansion, UpMeals has acquired GrubGrab, a digital meal subscription service geared toward post-secondary students. GrubGrab had previously engaged UpMeals to support in centralizing their food sourcing under the GrubGrab brand. The COVID-19 pandemic forced them to pivot their business model to make access points safe, facilitating the acquisition by UpMeals. GrubGrab co-founders Rohan Siyal and Jovan Choongh, are recent post-secondary graduates and will support in integrating UpMeals with student initiative programs, hosting various events and integrating UpMeals solutions into the culture of the university.

Quotes:

“We’re so excited to see that our streamlined UpMeals solution can disrupt an older food accessibility model and provide affordable, 24/7 healthy food options designed specifically based on student preferences. The machines will be stocked fresh daily in a single trip, so we’ll also be helping to reduce the carbon footprint of the institutions and students, providing a much more sustainable solution.” – Drew Munro, Co-Founder and CEO of UpMeals

“The students, faculty and staff at Simon Fraser University are always searching for healthy food choices. Ensuring our campuses are equipped with nourishing options at any hour of the day will support a healthy student body and mind. It’s a sustainable option and it helps our campus to eliminate food waste through UpMeals’ partnership with the Vancouver Food Runners food donation program. We’re thrilled to see this innovative concept take off.” – Dan Traviss, Director, SFU Food and Ancillary Services, Simon Fraser University

“We’re excited to be joining UpMeals as they grow their UpMeals on Campus initiative. We’re eager to see this program flourish as schools welcome students back to school in a normal capacity – and look forward to contributing to UpMeals’ healthy food accessibility mission, helping students be healthier and more productive. We wish this existed when we were students!”– Jovan Choongh, Growth Team at UpMeals

Check out other SmartVending locations.

Media Contacts

Larissa Dundon

604.649.5506

larissa@larissadundon.com

Madeleine Davidson

604.358.0011

maddie@madeleinedavidsonstrategies.com

UpMeals Completes Another SmartVending Installation in Richmond Residential Building

June 24, 2021

UpMeals is delighted to announce another installation of their innovative SmartVending units at a residential property– Riverport Flats located in Richmond, B.C. The newly installed machine will give the 500+ residents access to custom curated healthy meals available in the lobby of the building, 24/7. Residents will be able to grab healthy options on their way to work in the morning, have a freshly prepared entrée in the evening and have access to healthy treats and snacks throughout the day.

The SmartVending hardware is a refrigerated machine installed in the R5 building lobby, located at 14000 Riverport Way, with a customized interface inspired by Riverport Flats’ branding. The healthy meals will be delivered to the machine at a regular cadence to ensure ultimate freshness. Riverport Flats will have the ability to monitor their SmartVending machine remotely, create plans for meals nearing their expiry date and even build menus based on the popularity of food items.

To curate the menu, residents of the property participated in a survey provided by UpMeals identifying the goals and benefits they want to achieve with the meals and snacks available to them. The survey included their dietary and cuisine preferences, and eating habits, which helped inform their customized menu offering of healthy, fresh, sustainable, and chef-prepared meals, including items like the Signature Breakfast Wrap, Baja Chicken Salad Bowl, Seasonal Harvest Bowl, and Seed Nut Superfood Bar. Any meals that are not sold within their freshness time frame will be donated to communities in need through UpMeals partnership with Vancouver Food Runners.

The SmartVending solution is the first of its kind to be offered as an amenity in a residential building in Richmond. Riverport Flats foresees the value add to help encourage long standing tenants, as a selling feature for prospective renters, and to help drive competitiveness in the market.