Netherland’s fastest-growing meal box company leverages ELGi’s reliable air compressors to pack nutrition and freshness into each box it delivers.

A Quick Peek

Boerschappen, a mission-driven short-chain company, trusts ELGi air compressors to fulfill its commitment to providing fresh local produce to each consumer. After switching to an air compressor from ELGi, the company experienced enhanced efficiency with zero downtime.

The Future of Food Technology

The meal kit industry is booming globally because more people want to eat healthy and look for convenient meals on the go. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need for these subscription boxes as a safer and more convenient alternative to grocery shopping at the supermarket.

In addition to providing healthy options for busy individuals, meal boxes help decrease food waste. Technological advances in online food delivery assist short-chain businesses in procuring locally and delivering quickly.

The meal kit delivery services had a global market size of $15.21 billion in 2021. It is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 17.4% from 2022 to 2030.1 The US-based market research and consulting firm, Grand View Research, reports that the cook and eat segment held the largest revenue share in 2021, dominating the market for meal kit delivery services with a 60.7% share. The report highlights that the cook and eat meal box concept addresses the popularity of home-cooking amongst youngsters. The pre-portioned ingredients save time and money when compared to conventional cooking methods.

The common types of meal delivery boxes popular in the industry are:

By offering - Heat & Eat and Cook & Eat
By serving - Single and Multiple
By meal-type - Vegan, Vegetarian, and Non-Vegetarian

Ideas to Reality/ Subscription Boxes of Fresh Goodies

Founded by Stéphanie Vellekoop and Stijn Markusse in 2013, Boerschappen addresses the need for fresh and nutritious food items. It started with Stéphanie noticing the problems with the food they buy from the supermarket. The unnecessary additions increase the shelf life of food but deplete its nutritional value, and erratic buying behavior of consumers leads to food wastage. Stijn strived to resolve these issues by buying fresh groceries from local farmers while paying them a fair price. They soon turned the concept into a business.

Boerschappen started at a rented location in Breda and has grown into a 7.3 Mio EUR company in the past nine years. It recorded a growth of 500% in 2020 and 2021 with 10,000 customers. The business has grown from a couple’s concept to a team of 60 colleagues handling a production location, a farm, and over 30 pick-up points.

Focusing both on the farmer and customer is their company’s competitive advantage. Boerschappen evaluates its farmers personally and ensures no pesticides are used in the production. Their products are seasonal and regional. To maximize nutrition retention, the packaging is done with minimal processing.

Stijn and Stephanie planned to expand Boerschappen; they wanted to bring in cause-driven investors on board, and hence, they are now forming a cooperative. The company aims to build a food chain that delivers value to customers, farmers, and its staff. Technology is a core competence, and mechanization of the production process is anticipated to strengthen the business further.

Getting Things Together

The production process initiates with the creation of healthy and nutritious recipes. The ingredients for each recipe are shortlisted, and farmers cultivating them are contacted for availability. The team from Boerschappen collects the products each morning and brings them to the production site. The products are carefully packed into contaminant-free boxes to retain the nutrition and freshness of each ingredient. Compressed air powers the boxing machine, aiding in quicker packaging. The focus is on keeping the vegetables, meat, and other ingredients free from contaminants like water vapor, solid particulates (including spores), and oil aerosols. These boxes are then delivered to customers at their doorstep or made available at collection points.

Due to the perishable nature of food-related products, they must be packaged as soon as possible to ensure freshness while meeting stringent safety and quality criteria. Using compressed air while packaging helps quicken the process. It is necessary for Boerschappen to comply with the food safety standards and maintain the freshness of products as a differentiator. An assembly line will help automate the production process at an even higher speed.

Challenge/Hurdles Enroute

Boerschappen’s meal kit packaging business requires high-quality air compressors to prepare boxes for packaging the products quickly. Compressed air is an important tool in the food industry, particularly in packaging.Packaging industries also use compressed air dryers to prevent damage in their compressed air system due to condensate. The key concern is to ensure the freshness of the products. Earlier, Boerschappen relied on a compressor from a company that provided services to other organizations on the rented premises. However, the challenge was the availability of an air system that could match up with the pace of Boerschappen’s growing business. By using compressed air, Boerschappen has improved its speed of boxing the products.

The Solution

With its business expanding, Boerschappen switched to ELGi air compressors on 22nd July 2021. The EN Series screw air compressor delivers reliable and high-quality compressed air. The newly installed ELGi EN Series screw air compressor at the Boerschappen production site helped them prepare more meal boxes at a higher speed. The compressors run for three hours each day to provide a consistent supply of compressed air for packaging.

The high quality Air compressor was provided by a local ELGi dealership, TechnoBrabant, including air compressor installation and any required compressed air maintenance services. However, since July 2021, Boerschappen has been comfortably using the air compressor for packaging without any downtime. As an organization, Boerschappen prioritizes sustainable practices across its business processes. ELGi products help it achieve the same by minimizing energy losses and reducing air outlet temperatures. The company plans to install more compressors from ELGi after shifting to its new production facility.

The Benefits/ The Edge

Boerschappen is leveraging the following business benefits from ELGi’s equipment:

Quicker treatment : Speed is crucial for Boerschappen to keep products fresh. ELGi air compressors power the boxing machine helping prepare delivery boxes faster.

Minimal downtime : There has been no service or maintenance requirement since installation. As Boerschappen is a short-chain organization, equipment reliability is crucial for them.

Conclusion/ Customer Thoughts/ Happy Customer Says

“The meal box industry saw a boom during the pandemic, and its demand will continue to rise over time. As we expand our delivery service and include a wider variety of regional ingredients our reliance on ELGi’s outstanding technology is bound to increase. With ELGi we can focus on the expansion of our business since we do not have to worry about the service or downtime. Partnering with ELGi, has been the best business decision as their sustainability policies are in sync with our business values,” said Bart Schoonebeek, Go Live & Fulfillment Manager, Boerschappen.

Taking care of customers' business needs is the key to long-term relationships. The team at ELGi strives to innovate products that align with specific business goals and help achieve them. With ELGi's installation, air compressor service, and maintenance, we make things as simple as possible for our customers so they can focus on their business. We deliver best-in-class products with a guarantee of reliability.

Reference

Meal Kit Delivery Services Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/meal-kit-delivery-services-market