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[PROGRESS THREAD] Solving obesity in the trucking industry ... one meal at a time

A detailed account of a Fastlane process...

th.ri.ll

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After posting in the Ideas section, this will be where I document my journey to build a meal delivery service for Truckers.

I don’t have a process path outlined yet, but I’m hoping to do some research and build one out in next couple weeks.

As the first step in the process I posted a soft proof validation post in the r/truckers subreddit after seeing many posts asking how to stay healthy on the road.

I’ll give it 3-5 days and see what the responses are and update you all!
 
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MTF

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Love this idea. Solving a real problem and helping people get healthier. Good luck.
 

CharlesFinley

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What do you think about a meal prep service targeting truckers rather than a meal delivery? Most of them should have a fridge and microwave in the cab, right? You can rent out a commercial kitchen, or even contract a kitchen from a restaurant at a major truck stop, and sell 10-15 meals at a time.
 

th.ri.ll

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What do you think about a meal prep service targeting truckers rather than a meal delivery? Most of them should have a fridge and microwave in the cab, right? You can rent out a commercial kitchen, or even contract a kitchen from a restaurant at a major truck stop, and sell 10-15 meals at a time.

The thing is that if you want this biz to be scalable you have to be able to deliver the meals nationwide.

I think what I’ll most likely end up doing renting out a commercial kitchen whenever I need to make the food and then deliver them in a cold box, then the truckers can just put them into their fridge and store from there.
 
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th.ri.ll

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UPDATE 1/10/22:

I don't think Reddit is showing my post to anymore people in the r/truckers sub-reddit, so I'll end my soft proof validation experiment and share results. in the next paragraph, I'll analyze the post's likes and such like I'm running an ad, so it'll give me a guesstimate of how my marketing campaigns could turn out.

I'm 100% sure reddit upvotes aren't the best indicator of interest, but this is a good start:
- 17 upvotes expressing interest
- 8 comments (5 with a hard yes, 3 with objections/suggestions)
- 3 Email Sign Ups (I messaged the 5 people who said yes yesterday asking if I could get them on a list, it's still early so I'll give the other ones some time)

Again, Social Media PPC Ads are a whole other beast, but If I decide to go that route I think I can expect 15-20% of people who see my ad to click on it, or like it. Roughly half of that 15-20% will browse my website, and half of those that browse my website will sign up.

Here are some objections I got:
-
There are things like SkipTheDishes, UberEats, Grubhub, etc that can deliver food from restaurants to drivers, but also some comments expressed that if you're ordering from these services frequently it can get expensive. We all have had that experience where a $10 meal ordered through a delivery service can turn into a $40 one
.
- Also, these are still meals from restaurants and fast food places. They're not healthy. If drivers want a healthy meal, it'll most likely come from a restaurant which is more on the expensive side. My service will provide convenient, healthy meals at an affordable price, and without un-necessary fees.

Action Items:
  • Envision the ordering experience from the side of the driver. When they go to my website, what will they see? How do they order meals? What options do I give them? How is it going to get delivered to them?
  • Create a brand. Brainstorm some names, copy, USP's, imagery etc. I want this to be a niche delivery service towards the trucking industry, which will be a value skew in of itself. So I will have everything centered around that as a differentiator.
  • I'm not going to be using a co - packer in the initial stages, so I'll need to find some suppliers that can provide shelf - sustainable packaging materials for pre-packaged meals. This way, I can rent out a commercial kitchen and package everything myself or with the help of a few friends.
  • Develop a marketing plan. Doesn't necessarily have to involve ads, but it probably will. I'm thinking Ads + incentivizing drivers to refer other drivers somehow + going out to Truckstops and finding a way to advertise in person without getting kicked out lol
I know that was a long write up, but I'd appreciate any advice/suggestions to help me along this journey. I'm just happy I confirmed some demand and got a couple sign ups.
 

th.ri.ll

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UPDATE:
2/2/2022


Since my initial soft proof test, I've been busy with work but now have more time to dedicate to building this business. My goal is to get my first customer in six months.

My next step is to figure out what materials and chemicals are needed to pre - package meals and make them stable for delivery and shelf - life. Most truckers have a fridge in their truck, so really I just need it to last long enough for the delivery.

So far I've emailed 7 food packaging consultants today to schedule a session with them today. I'll get a session going with the most affordable one and report my findings here in a few days.
 

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Action Items:
  • How is it going to get delivered to them?
I don’t think you need to do anything else but figure this out first. Else all that other work you are doing is going to be wasted.
 
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th.ri.ll

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I don’t think you need to do anything else but figure this out first. Else all that other work you are doing is going to be wasted.

Yup. That's why I hired a food packaging consultant with the intention of finding a way to package the meals so they'll survive through delivery.
 

biophase

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Yup. That's why I hired a food packaging consultant with the intention of finding a way to package the meals so they'll survive through delivery.
Actually that’s not what I mean. Let’s pretend you have your food packaged and ready to go. It will survive delivery.

How will you be shipping your meals? Are you shipping them frozen? Who is doing the shipping? Are you serving the entire country? What is your cost of shipping the food?
 

Andy Black

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What if there were Byte Technology fridges in the truck stops, stocked with fresh and healthy food?

 
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CharlesFinley

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Delivery and shipping are massively inefficient usage of COGS for customers who are on the road for 10 hours a day and have refrigeration, IMO. Honestly don't understand that one bit. It's such a tremendous waste that there is no way this model will be able to serve a super high quality meal for under $15-$20/meal while keeping landed cost at under 30% in order to service a tiny amount of customers on a national geographic area. Shipping and delivery is simply a major expense with virtually no value add to your target market.

Step 1) Identify a couple major truck stops
Step 2) Develop a relationship with a local restaurant, commissary or co-packer in each location(potentially even a ghost kitchen at that truck stop)
Step 3) Focus your marketing budget on the locations where your potential customers are already sleeping, shitting or refueling.
Step 4) Serve outstanding prepped meals for a fantastic price to a demographic that desperately needs it
Step 5) $$$
 

th.ri.ll

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Actually that’s not what I mean. Let’s pretend you have your food packaged and ready to go. It will survive delivery.

How will you be shipping your meals? Are you shipping them frozen? Who is doing the shipping? Are you serving the entire country? What is your cost of shipping the food?
That’s a good point. Time to go the drawing board. I know HelloFresh and the like have distribution warehouses in Texas and California that then allows them to send packages in insular boxes anywhere in the states, might do something similar.
 

th.ri.ll

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Delivery and shipping are massively inefficient usage of COGS for customers who are on the road for 10 hours a day and have refrigeration, IMO. Honestly don't understand that one bit. It's such a tremendous waste that there is no way this model will be able to serve a super high quality meal for under $15-$20/meal while keeping landed cost at under 30% in order to service a tiny amount of customers on a national geographic area. Shipping and delivery is simply a major expense with virtually no value add to your target market.

Step 1) Identify a couple major truck stops
Step 2) Develop a relationship with a local restaurant, commissary or co-packer in each location(potentially even a ghost kitchen at that truck stop)
Step 3) Focus your marketing budget on the locations where your potential customers are already sleeping, shitting or refueling.
Step 4) Serve outstanding prepped meals for a fantastic price to a demographic that desperately needs it
Step 5) $$$
This is also a very good idea for reducing costs when it comes to delivery and shipping. Perhaps I could find co-packers or commercial kitchens near truckstops to pre-package meals in boxes and then deliver them to the nearest truckstop.
 
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th.ri.ll

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What if there were Byte Technology fridges in the truck stops, stocked with fresh and healthy food?

Interesting concept. Not sure how I could implement it with my Idea though.
 

th.ri.ll

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Okay here's my updated next steps:

1) Speak with food consultant on best practices for pre-packaging meals
2) Develop recipes
3) Cook and package a test batch of 30-50 one week meal boxes
4) Find a truck-stop and do a promotional event to get sign ups and collect feedback

If all goes well I think this type of event marketing in my local region is gonna be my best bang for the buck until I figure out a way to scale deliveries of boxes.
 

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You have a great goal, but I think your process is wrong since, as other have pointed out, shipping cold boxes is a high cost that adds very little value to the customer.

My dad is a truck driver, my uncle, grandfather, and great-grandfather were all truck drivers, so I've been immersed in the culture a pretty long time. Truckers are older than average (especially for blue collar workers) and overweight, as I am sure you have observed.

An important thing to note is that there is a big difference between the needs and wants of local-delivery truckers (usually working within 1 city or state) and long-haul truckers. I assume you are mostly targeting long-haul truckers, but it will be important to differentiate the groups when polling or asking truckers for insights.

I also think that truckers are generally cheap/frugal and usually don't spend a lot on their food. I have an extremely hard time seeing my dad or any of his coworkers (who make about $80k+) spending $20 per meal.

If my goal were to get healthy meals to truckers, I would open a Salad and Go like restaurant at a truck stop. You would probably not be familiar with them, but their growth model is insane, their value proposition is excellent, and their drive-thru time is probably 7x faster than Starbucks and 3x faster than Taco Bell and their operating crew is half the size of other fast food restaurants. Their walk-up model would work well at a truck stop, particularly in more temperate zones. I think their model is quantity and quality and affordable and insanely fast. They launched in 2013 and have 56 locations in AZ and TX now.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmdhS-5pQxM
 
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th.ri.ll

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You have a great goal, but I think your process is wrong since, as other have pointed out, shipping cold boxes is a high cost that adds very little value to the customer.

My dad is a truck driver, my uncle, grandfather, and great-grandfather were all truck drivers, so I've been immersed in the culture a pretty long time. Truckers are older than average (especially for blue collar workers) and overweight, as I am sure you have observed.

An important thing to note is that there is a big difference between the needs and wants of local-delivery truckers (usually working within 1 city or state) and long-haul truckers. I assume you are mostly targeting long-haul truckers, but it will be important to differentiate the groups when polling or asking truckers for insights.

I also think that truckers are generally cheap/frugal and usually don't spend a lot on their food. I have an extremely hard time seeing my dad or any of his coworkers (who make about $80k+) spending $20 per meal.

If my goal were to get healthy meals to truckers, I would open a Salad and Go like restaurant at a truck stop. You would probably not be familiar with them, but their growth model is insane, their value proposition is excellent, and their drive-thru time is probably 7x faster than Starbucks and 3x faster than Taco Bell and their operating crew is half the size of other fast food restaurants. Their walk-up model would work well at a truck stop, particularly in more temperate zones. I think their model is quantity and quality and affordable and insanely fast. They launched in 2013 and have 56 locations in AZ and TX now.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmdhS-5pQxM
Thank you so much for your input - I intend to stick to the meal delivery Idea and make it as affordable as possible. i don't necessarily want to open a restaurant like that but probably a location nearby a Truckstop where I can distribute the meals easily. Do you mind If I DM you since you have experience being a driver yourself?
 

biophase

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That’s a good point. Time to go the drawing board. I know HelloFresh and the like have distribution warehouses in Texas and California that then allows them to send packages in insular boxes anywhere in the states, might do something similar.
I just curious, but what is your initial capital budget for starting this company? It sounds like you may need alot.
 

th.ri.ll

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Here's a few updates considering everybody's very helpful feedback and suggestions.

COGS Breakdown per weekly meal box:
-
7 meals that cost roughly $2.50 per serving = $17.50
- Packaging for 7 meals at $1 each = $7
- Custom branded container box that fits 7 meals = $2
Total: $26 to produce one weekly pre - packaged meal box.

Also, this is ignoring the discounts that come with wholesale pricing on food ingredients and packaging, my COGS will only go down as I get more orders, It will probably be slightly expensive in the beginning though.

HelloFresh and BlueApron are selling their weekly boxes at $45-50, so I figure I can sell mine for around $35-40. I've been looking around at trucking forums and a lot of drivers are saying they spend $50-100 on gas station and fast food anyway.

Shipping & Delivery:
For now, I have decided to put national delivery on the backburner as I simply do not have a solid supply chain in place for that, and to build that supply chain would cost a pretty penny. I've decided to ship in the west coast for now, since that's where I'm based out of and delivery wouldn't take that long. Eventually as I get more funds I'll start expanding to more regions.
 
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biophase

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COGS Breakdown per weekly meal box:
-
7 meals that cost roughly $2.50 per serving = $17.50
- Packaging for 7 meals at $1 each = $7
- Custom branded container box that fits 7 meals = $2
Total: $26 to produce one weekly pre - packaged meal box.
HelloFresh and BlueApron are selling their weekly boxes at $45-50, so I figure I can sell mine for around $35-40.
I don’t see how you are making any money here.

Your competitor isn’t Hello Fresh or Blue Apron. Truckers aren’t cooking meals in their trucks. Both of these companies also are targeting families or at least two person meals.

Did you really research your competitors? Have you ever ordered a meal from any of these places? This just makes me wonder if you really understand this market at all by mentioning to competitors that are doing something totally different than what you want to be doing.

Shipping to west coast is still going to be expensive. Minimum ground shipping will be $15. Did you price in the cost of a styrofoam box and dry ice?

I just don’t see how your marketing will work here. Any trucker that would want a healthy meal like this is going to order from a meal service that is targeting people into fitness. If you just market this to truck drivers you will miss the whole fitness industry.

I use plenty of these services and there is already a lot of competition out there in the fitness space.

I’ve get Ice Age, Freshly and Trifecta. These are your real competitors. I pay about $10 dollars a meal after discounts and coupons.
 
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th.ri.ll

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I don’t see how you are making any money here.

$26 for COGS. How are you delivering them? Your competitor isn’t Hello Fresh or Blue Apron. Truckers aren’t cooking meals in their trucks.

It’s Ice Age Meals and others like them.
So I'm going to be setting up shop near truckstops and also delivering through FedEx in just the west coast region along I-5 and I-90. I've spoken with a food consultant and ensure that the packaging methods I use will last long enough for delivery.

And to answer your point about trucker's not cooking meals in their trucks, these meals are going to be pre - cooked and microwavable. Most long haul truckers have a refrigerator and microwave.

Ultimately I'm expecting 10-12% gross margin.
 
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biophase

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So I'm going to be setting up shop near truckstops and also delivering through FedEx in just the west coast region along I-5 and I-90.

And to answer your point about trucker's not cooking meals in their trucks, these meals are going to be pre - cooked and microwavable. Most long haul truckers have a refrigerator and microwave.

Ultimately I'm expecting 10-12% gross margin.
Sorry I was editing my post when you replied here. Please reread my post again as I’ve added new concerns. What do you expect your FedEx shipping cost to be?
 
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