Many big corporations today choose to save on rent and establish their offices outside city centers. They prefer to settle in more remote and suburban areas, made possible by business parks. For example, Ubisoft and Air France are located in a suburb of Paris called Montreuil. Even Microsoft’s French division chose an office on the southwest edge of Paris.
The advantages are clear; cheaper premises, more pleasant environment and a sense of community are only a few. However, there are also drawbacks. One of them is the remoteness which doesn’t allow for many meal options.
It’s one thing if you’re lucky to have a business center with several canteens, although people get bored with them quickly. However, if your premises are more modest than that, you have very few options for lunch. The Lille-based food delivery startup Dejbox, founded by two French graduates, is currently working to solve that very problem.
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“Une cantine oú tu manges bien”
Dejbox’s USP seems to be the way they address logistical challenges of the modern corporate world and lunch options. The “to infinity and beyond” target audience remains to be corporate headquarters outside the busy city centers that have limited meal options.
The French market does have several prominent players like Uber Eats and Deliveroo at their disposal. Nonetheless, Dejbox has managed to stay competitive and quickly expand to other French cities like Paris, Lyon, and Bordeaux, increasing their turnover tenfold in just five years.
Unlike most food delivery companies, Dejbox doesn’t use zero-hours contract system and offers all of its staff full-time employment. Many of them act as account managers, having their own clients, and receive monthly reports on the revenue they’ve generated.
“Digital canteen”
Each truck of Dejbox can deliver up to 150 meals per day, allowing the caterers to reach multiple offices in the most remote areas. Being a contractor for corporate catering also works well since it provides the option to order meals for up to one week in advance, with free delivery. The generous portions are presented as “well above the market average” with the menu constantly updated. Aside from that, the flexible payment systems also motivate people to order in bulk.
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It seems that Dejbox isn’t planning to slow down anytime soon, given its expected expansions to Nantes and Grenoble. To see more information about the startup, check out the video below.
YouTube: Portrait de la startup lilloise Dejbox (French)
Photo credit: The feature image has been taken by Ali Inay.
Sources: Romain Dillet (TechCrunch) / Lucas Bidault (Les Echos) / Oliver Gee and Rose Trigg (The Local)
