Tag: UpMeals

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

HARNESSING YOUR SUPER STRENGTH FROM WITHIN

March 2, 2023

This episode features CY Iwanegbe, life coach, fitness expert, and founder of BRIO – an online wellness platform designed to help individuals unlock their super strength from within. Together with renowned chef and UpMeals CEO Drew Munro, they explore how CY’s experiences and adversities transformed him to find his true calling of motivating people to take action and turn those dreams into a reality.

Q. What do you do for yourself to recharge?

“Create space for yourself to create new memories and let the creative juice flow. Don’t check your emails, completely unplug.”

🎧 Join the conversation!

https://the-wellness-hub.simplecast.com/episodes/cy-iwanegbe

Food, Healing, and Independence

January 31, 2023

Nihal Elwan is the Founder and CEO of Tayybeh, a social enterprise that empowers Syrian refugee chefs by providing an opportunity for employment, financial independence, and a sense of community, all while offering delicious and authentic local Syrian cuisine. In this episode, Nihal Elwan shares her experience founding Tayybeh, her incredible career fighting for woman’s rights while working for the UN and World Bank, and the transformative power of food to bring communities together to heal.

“Food is such a powerful healing entity — It connects people together of all walks of life.“- Nihal Elwan

🎧 Listen to the full episode here: https://the-wellness-hub.simplecast.com/episodes/food-healing-and-independence

Vegan Vietnamese Cuisine and the Plant-Based Revolution

January 26, 2023

Chef Kim Vo arrived as a refugee in Canada at the age of 2. She now runs a plant-based Vietnamese ghost kitchen and catering concept. Her experiences with food at a young age were the inspiration behind the launch of her innovative take on classic Vietnamese dishes. Learn more about her story of overcoming adversity and breaking tradition to chase her dreams.

“Ever since I switched to a plant-based diet, I feel a lot better and more energized. It’s also a more sustainable choice as a chef.“- Chef Kim Vo

🎧 Listen to the full episode to learn more about her journey and the benefit of a plant-based diet!

https://the-wellness-hub.simplecast.com/episodes/vegan-vietnamese-cuisine-and-the-plant-based-revolution

Human Connection Through Food in Pandemic

January 26, 2023

The hospitality industry has been one of the hardest-hit industries during the pandemic. In this episode, our CEO, Drew Munro talks to Kevin Mazzone, General Manager of Lazy Gourmet Catering & Events about how the pandemic has transformed businesses and how human connection through food has survived via catered virtual events.

“You have to schedule self-care to recharge, you’re going to be better off for it and better off longer for it.“- Kevin Mazzone

🔗 Listen to the full episode here: https://the-wellness-hub.simplecast.com/episodes/human-connection-through-food-in-pandemic

Quick Tips For A Healthier Gut

November 22, 2022

A healthy gut is the key to optimal health! In this episode, Sam and Natalia dive into the importance of gut health and a few tips you can start implementing now to support your gut so that you can feel your best.

“80% of your immune system is working in the gut.” – Natalia

Want to learn how you can optimize your gut health? Listen to the full episode here:

https://the-wellness-hub.simplecast.com/episodes/gut-health

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 Enters Exclusive Agreement to Create Custom Daily Eats for Facebook’s Vancouver Office

September 20, 2021

UpMeals is pleased to share that it is feeding the minds, hearts, and bellies of Facebook’s Vancouver employees. Some of the city’s brightest will indulge in custom-created meals, curated according to their food preferences using our proprietary software. UpMeals and the Facebook team collaborated on a unique menu that ensured specific meal preferences and nutritional guidelines were met. Breakfast, lunch and snack menu items will be provided to Facebook employees fresh daily, with new meals entering the rotation on a regular basis to ensure all eating preferences are accommodated and to keep things fresh and exciting.

“Partnering with an incredible organization like Facebook to ensure their employees are equipped with nutritious, satisfying meals is an unforgettable opportunity,” said Drew Munro, Co-Founder and CEO of UpMeals. “Leveraging our custom software, and the logistics we’ve come to master in the past few years of operation, we will own the full experience for up to 125 employees, feeding them healthy, diverse and delicious meals every day.”

Munro and his team will run the day-to-day operations at Facebook’s onsite service facility, owning the complete process from start to finish. This service will commence September 27, 2021 where UpMeals will be the exclusive onsite food services provider to the Facebook Vancouver team.

Chat with us to discuss a curated solution for your team!

This is an internal announcement and is not for general media release or distribution.

Media

Madeleine Davidson

maddie@madeleinedavidsonstrategies.com

604.358.0011

Larissa Dundon

larissa@larissadundon.com

604.649.5506