For a foodie like me, December is definitely the silly season. The lead-up to Christmas perfect excuse to eat lots of mince pies, pudding, chocolate and canapes – which means I have to be a little bit disciplined about what I eat in between.
Enter my newest discovery Harvest Box, a nifty service that delivers nuts and dried fruit packages to your office. Having these healthy snacks on hand means there’s less of a temptation to dip in to the biscuit tin and snack vending machine. You can choose your own mixes – I personally like By the Beach mix containing mango, macadamias, coconut and Brazil nuts. Today’s HOT Chat is with Will Cook, one of the founders of Harvest Box. Thanks Will!
Will, tell me a bit more about your background and how you came to start your business Harvest Box?
I have worked in large corporations and have also run my own catering business, therefore I have experienced both sides of trying to eat better at work. I remember working for large organisations where you would often be stuck in meetings or working back late and all you had at work was biscuits, unhealthy vending machines or fruit that nobody else was prepared to eat!
After many discussions over many evenings myself and two other mates decided to stop complaining and actually do something about turning workplace snacking on its head. We decided to think about it from the busy workers point of view and provide a product that is healthy, delicious, convenient and never boring. We even decided to allow our customers to rate all our mixes to their own taste so we only send you mixes you like. We want you to look at Harvest Box as a delicious self preservation box that sits on your desk.
Also, we worked with Australia Post to design a box that could securely send 4 punnets of healthy snacks (from a range of 50 mixes) to any address in Australia. We have been around for two months and have already sent thousands of boxes around the country. We won’t be happy until every desk has a Harvest Box!
What are the benefits of snacking on dried fruit and nuts?
Snacking on healthy and natural foods between meals can help to regulate blood sugar levels for sustained energy throughout the day.
There has been a complete shift in attitude to nuts and dried fruit recently. It is now widely recognised that nuts are natures own little vitamin pill, they don’t contain trans fats, are cholesterol free and are a great source of fibre and protein. The high protein content of nuts quickly satisfies your hunger and over time the nuts slowly release energy into your blood stream to give you lasting vitality.
Dried fruits are a good source of fibre and roughage and retain most of the health benefits of fresh fruit. We make sure we use as much fruit that is naturally dried and not soaked in sugar that you commonly find in the market place.
Our 4 punnets contained in each box are potion controlled so that you only have a suitable amount. You definitely can have too much of a good thing!
Our mixes are designed be delicious and to make you eat better. We want Australian workers to have more healthy eating options at work so they can keep their energy up during the day. We feel by having a box arrive on your desk each week with a range of natural foods will allow you to always have that snack on hand.
Where do you source your ingredients from?
Wherever possible we have hunted down the best tasting local produce we can find. We think Australian produce is the best! Our dried apple is from Tasmania, our dried mango and pineapple comes from Queensland and our almonds are from Mildura to name just a few. Seasonal constraints may dictate that from time to time we need to use imported produce, but this will be the exception. Wherever possible our dried fruits, nuts and seeds are free from preservatives, sulphites additives and added sugar.
What has been the most challenging thing you’ve faced in starting up your own business? What advice would you give to a small business owner?
Finding enough hours in the day and prioritising your work load. There are so many jobs to do and so much you want to achieve you need to make sure you are being effective with your time. We have found so many people want to talk about our product. If you are passionate about your offering your customers will be to. Because Harvest Box is committed to providing our customers choice we are constantly looking for new ingredients. This is fun but does take time.
All three of us have young families and I have an 11 week old baby so we have to make sure we split our time as fairly as possible between work and family. Being able to send our Harvest Boxes home each day makes life a little easier!!
What are your next plans for Harvest Box?
Looking to the future is the best part of running your own business. We are focused on ensuring our product range for our current customers is the best it possibly can be in terms of taste, freshness and health. Communicating all the options available with Harvest Box is critical but we don’t want to send too much info across. Things like pausing your deliveries, rating new products and forwarding on our free boxes all need to be communicated in an efficient way.
We want to keep increasing the amount of mixes we offer but we are also looking at supplying cafes and supermarkets with our individual punnets. Not to mention large companies wanting bulk orders.
We are in an exciting development stage we just have to make sure we grow in a sustainable manner. We love people coming to us with ideas so if any of your readers like what we do and have any suggestions feel free to drop us a line through our online feedback form on our website.
Finally, where are your HOT places to visit or things to do in Melbourne?
Three Bags Full (56 Nicholson St, Abbotsford +61 3 9421 2732) A funky cafe in the middle of industrial Abbotsford. On the weekend you will be waiting for a table so you know it is good!
Picnic in the Botanical Gardens – in the middle of the city it is nice to surround yourself with nature.
Farmers Markets – I try and go to one every month. The produce and knowledge they have is fantastic. We have actually found some great suppliers by popping down to a local farmers market. They appear across many suburbs throughout the year.
If you’re interested in giving Harvest Box a go, Will has kindly provided blog readers with a promotional code. Just enter 169BTG9RF to get the first box free and second box half price – there’s no expiry date.
Twitter: carawaters
says:
I like it although it sounds exactly like Graze in the UK which has been around for a few years: http://www.graze.com/ anything to keep me away from the chocolate bar vending machine!
Gourmet Chick´s last blog post ..The market in Isle-sur-la-Sorgue- Gourmet Chick in France
I wasn’t impressed at all with Harvest Box I must say.
The delivery days are wrong, not good if your ordering on a Friday, so it sits in transit for the whole weekend til you get it on Monday arvo!
My items were tasteless, not sure if it was because of the delay, or the produce was just bad?
My Main complaint is they never took one bit of notice of my selections! I specifcally went through and rated my likes and dislikes of all items and I’ve now cancelled after my second box because all they would send me was the items I had said “NO THANKS” to even tho there were pleanty of thigns I would have LOVED to have tried had they given me the chance!
So I personally thought they weren’t so great and that it really was not a way to run a business in my opinion.
But hey that was just my experience… Just thought I should share considering you don’t see or hear many bad reviews about Harvest Box. So it even suprised me!
Hi Annmaree
Thanks for comment. I’ve forwarded your comments to Harvest Box and hopefully they will be able to iron out any issues.
Jetsetting Joyce
Hi Annmaree, We are sorry you are not happy. We have sent you an email regarding your issues. I have looked at your account and we know where the issue is. Of our 50+ mixes you have rated out over 85% of our mixes. Unfortunately the current ratings system will sometimes struggle with finding mixes you like due to seasonal supply issues. From time to time some of our mixes will be unavailable. When we only have 8 mixes to choose from due to your ratings we can be limited. We do take feedback seriously and are currently changing the system this week to packing 2 mixes of the same rather than sending you a NO mix if we have unavailable mixes. We originally thought this wasn’t a very good option but have listened to feedback!! Also, every month we are increasing our mixes so this issue should be minimal in the future.
Regarding delivery day. We post in line with Aust Post guidelines to arrive on the selected day. 98% of our boxes arrive on time but sometimes for no apparent reason they can delay the delivery by one day. If this happens regularly we suggest you pick an earlier day to compensate.
I hope this explains some of the issues you have been having. We don’t like unhappy customers!!!
Twitter: nos235
says:
How many grams do you get ? I can’t seem to find any info on the website that tells you how much you get exactly so I can calculate per kilogram pricing.
Hi there each mix ranges in weight from 30-50grams. There are 4 mixes per box from a range of 50+.
Twitter: nos235
says:
So they want me to pay over 150% above the price at a place like Charlesworths for the convenience of delivery? Sounds like a recipe for business failure to me. I’ll just keep buying my own nuts and making my own mixes. Mixes that aren’t filled out with peanuts. My mixes are 15% Brazil, 20% Cashew, 15% Smoked Almond, 15% Honey Roast Peanuts, 10% Pistachio, 7.5% Hazelnut, 10% Macadamia, 7.5% Walnut
Hi There, we find convenience is one reason to choose Harvest Box but also the fact we try and use naturally dried fruit that isn’t saturated with sugar. We always try and provide mixes that aren’t out in the market so you can taste some different things. Of course, you can never please everybody even though we do try!!
Complete rip off of Graze Uk and nowhere as good. Box design, punnet size, ingredients, marketing methods and even down to the story on how they started is exactly like Graze! Surprised no one has sued over IP rights!
Hi Benjamin,
We actually speak to Graze quite a bit. Similar businesses do speak quite a lot and share info. Of course the Australian market is a little different than the UK and we have to adjust accordingly. Our product is always changing and improving as we grow.
Really, you talk to Graze?? My friends who started it have never heard of you! I wonder who you are talking to.
I wish you the best in your endeavours.