• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Skip to navigation
Close Ad

The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

  • Home
  • Podcasts
  • Events
  • Newsletter
  • Connect
    • Custom Events
    • Slack
    • RSS
    • Send us a Tip
  • Advertise
  • Consulting
  • About
The Spoon
  • Home
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Events
  • Advertise
  • About

Fresh Bowl Raises $2.1M, Plans for 50 Vending Machines Open This Year

by Chris Albrecht
January 21, 2020January 21, 2020Filed under:
  • Delivery & Commerce
  • Robotics, AI & Data
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)

Salad and snack vending machine company Fresh Bowl has raised a $2.1 million seed round, reports Restaurant Hospitality. The round was led by Betaworks and Ground Ventures, with Tuesday and Mana Capital also participating.

In addition to being a healthy food vending machine, Fresh Bowl’s hook is that it serves its meals in recyclable glass jars. When the company launched, it charged a $2 deposit for the jar, which could be rolled over into the next purchase upon its return.

But it looks like Fresh Bowl has changed up its model. Fast Company today wrote that instead of tacking on a deposit on top of the price of a meal, Fresh Bowl now offers a discount on the next bowl if you return the jar. With this new approach, Fresh Bowl says its seen an 85 percent return rate.

Armed with more cash, Fresh Bowl is also looking to expand to more places. The company lists six locations on its website right now, and Fresh Bowl co-founder, Zach Lawless, told Fast Company that they are looking to have a total of 50 machines in operation by the end of this year.

To quote Jack White, “I’ve said it once before but it bears repeating now.” We are entering a golden age of food vending machines. Companies like Fresh Bowl, Briggo, Chowbotics, Farmer’s Fridge, and Yo-Kai Express are all working to deliver restaurant quality meals from a teeny-tiny automated footprint. These vending machines can be squirreled away in office buildings, dormitories, factories and airports, operating twenty-four hours a day, serving up delicious meals in minutes for busy people on the go.

Hopefully more of this cohort will be able to take a page from Fresh Bowl’s fresh approach and incorporate recyclable containers into their service.


Related

Fresh Bowl’s Vending Machine Dishes Up Healthy Food and Uses No Plastic Containers

Research shows that eating at work isn't very healthy. Whether it's grabbing a burger and fries or a salad drenched in too much dressing, eating while working doesn't always work in your best interest. Fresh Bowl is among a raft of startups looking to change how we eat at the…

Should We Ditch the Term “Vending Machine?”

When I say the words "vending machine," what comes to mind? It's probably a cold, metal box with bags of chips and candy bars lined up in coils behind glass. That metal box is probably tucked away in some poorly lit corner or alcove, and it keeps spitting your perfectly…

VEAT Raises €0.5M Pre-Seed Round, Launches Vending Machine for Plant-Based Foods

Swedish startup VEAT, which makes vending machines that dispense plant-based grab-and-go food, announced today that it has raised a €0.5 million (~$.7 million USD) pre-Seed round of funding. Investors in the round include Pale Blue Dot, Robert Ahldin, Erik Segerborg, Purple Orange Ventures, and Shio Equity. According to the press…

Get the Spoon in your inbox

Just enter your email and we’ll take care of the rest:

Find us on some of these other platforms:

  • Apple Podcasts
  • Spotify
Tagged:
  • Fresh Bowl
  • vending machine

Post navigation

Previous Post Uber Sells Its Eats India Business to Rival Zomato
Next Post Starbucks Pledges to Cut Carbon Emissions, Water Usage and Landfill Waste by Half by 2030

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Get The Spoon in Your Inbox

The Spoon Podcast Network!

Feed your mind! Subscribe to one of our podcasts!

Is IFT’s Launch of an AI Tool For Food Scientists an Indicator of Where Trade Associations Are Going in Age of AI?
From Red Bull to Zevia, Amy Taylor Shares Lessons Learned From a Career Built Around Buzzy Beverages
Study: AI-Powered Drones Fuel Advances in Precision Ag for Early Detection of Crop Stress
Could Lasers Made From Olive Oil Be The Next-Gen Freshness Detector or Use-By Label?
Leanpath CEO: The Fight Against Food Waste Enters Its ‘Second Act’

Footer

  • About
  • Sponsor the Spoon
  • The Spoon Events
  • Spoon Plus

© 2016–2025 The Spoon. All rights reserved.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.