Is there such a thing as a healthy office snack? In the office I worked at as a teenager, the tea lady came round with our morning coffee & afternoon tea with a range of calorie laden cakes, biscuits, crisps & sandwich … with a few pieces of fruit that had seen better days! My guest on the blog today is Anna Szanto, co founder & MD of The Goodness Project, the ultra convenient healthy office snack & fruit delivery service. I caught up with Anna recently to find out more…. Hi Anna!
Hello, my name is Anna Szanto and I am the Co-founder & Director of The Goodness Project. The Goodness Project offers monthly Healthy, Gluten Free and Vegan subscription boxes, gift hampers for individuals and healthy snack & fruit boxes for offices. To sum up our mission in one sentence, our aim is to help people to make the right decision towards a more conscious eating and lifestyle and to connect health-conscious brands with their customers.
The Goodness Project is a simple yet brilliant concept. What inspired the conception of The Goodness Project?
I have always been very passionate about healthy eating and in late 2013 me and my business partner have decided to launch the first healthy subscription box service in the UK, that focuses on organic and natural products. This proved to be very popular within the wellness scene and in time our customers started to ask for one-off gift boxes that they could gift, so shortly after, we have launched a range of vegan and gluten-free gift hampers. Using our expertise, this year we have also started tapping into the corporate market and we are determined to change unhealthy snacking habits of employees by supplying healthier snack alternatives and fresh fruit boxes to offices across the UK. We also have big plans: In the next three years we would like The Goodness Project to become the UK’s biggest food gift service in the free from segment and see our gift boxes and hampers stocked by mayor retailers.
From assorted nut mixes to protein bars & healthy alternatives to crisps; as well as catering for all dietary requirements – vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free – What snacks are proving most popular amongst your customers?
Our customers are very health conscious, so they love everything that is not only tasty, but also good for them. However raw vegan chocolate and popcorn are proving most popular amongst our customers – they can’t seem to get enough!
I’m partial to the granola & protein type bars. What are your favourite snacks?
Great choice Linda, granola & protein bars are great to curb the 3 pm carvings and also really popular at the moment. I personally love nuts and absolutely adore anything with peanut butter. A few apple slices with nut butter – you can’t beat this healthy snack!
What do you look for when sourcing products for your service? What is the most unusual “snack” you’ve come across?
Our whole team is always on the lookout for the latest snacks. We have very good relationships with our wholesalers and we constantly search the internet, social media for new products. We also get many companies approaching us with their products, so we always have the newest snacks in stock. Over the years we have developed a unique set of guidelines for our curation process to ensure only authentic products are featured in our boxes and hampers. Each product must fall into one or more of these categories: organic, vegan, gluten-free, fair-trade, environmentally-friendly, chemicals-free, cruelty-free, people and planet positive.
Most unusual snack we have come across? It has to be flavoured crickets. Edible insects such as crickets and mealworms have become popular in the last year or so and are now available in some health food shops. Although it is an environmentally-friendly alternative to meat, as a veggie/vegan business, we won’t be stocking them I am afraid.
How does a company order snacks etc – are there set contracts or plans? Is it possible for individuals to order or is it mainly offices/corporations purchasing, in effect, wholesale?
Our healthy subscription boxes and gift hampers are available for everyone to order on our website. For offices/corporate clients we offer a bespoke service, whereby they let us know their requirements and we tailor a package to suit their needs. There are no contracts or set plans – companies can easily order one-off snack or fruit boxes for events or set up a regular delivery with us; we offer a transparent and flexible service. What I think is also important to mention is that we have a constantly revolving snack selection, so our clients won’t get bored when it comes to our deliveries.
As you are based in the UK, are there plans afoot to expand overseas?
We are London based and we ship our subscription boxes and hampers worldwide.
Personal now – what outfits and shoes would you normally be found wearing?
I have a functional, minimalist wardrobe. Most of the days you’ll probably find me skinny jeans, white or black T-shirt and multicoloured trainers (my ‘signature style’ at the moment) as I move around a lot in the office and give a hand when our deliveries go in our out. If I have a meeting or presentation to attend I like to keep it smart casual, so I’d probably be wearing a combination of heels and jeans.
Do you have any favourite shops or online sites?
I absolutely love Cos, I always find something in their store! I adore their modern minimalistic approach. They offer edginess and clean lines for an everyone-can-join price and I find their garments comfortable and the fabrics long-lasting.
What’s next on your clothes/shoe wish list?
As mentioned, I am obsessed with funky trainers, so it will probably be a new pair.
Boots or Shoes? ( & Why?)
Shoes every time! If you see me wearing boots it means it is very grim outside.
Links you would like to share e.g. website/facebook/twitter etc so that readers can find out more about The Goodness Project.
https://thegoodnessproject.co.uk/
https://thegoodnessproject.co.uk/shop
https://www.instagram.com/thegoodnessprj/
https://www.facebook.com/thegoodnessprj
https://twitter.com/TheGoodnessPrj
Great to chat with you Anna and I wish you continued company success! So, dear readers, do you favour a nutty healthy snack like me? When it comes to 3pm, just what do you crave to eat? Please tell, I’d love to know!
Linda x
All photos published with kind permission from The Goodness Project.