Interview With The Spud! CEO
Spud! is the largest organic food delivery company in North America, serving more than 19,000 customers in major metropolitan areas on the West Coast (Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle and now, San Francisco), in addition to Canada.
And, I had the pleasure of interviewing the CEO of Spud!, David Van Seters. Check out the interview Q&As below.
Cheryl: How did you get into the organic food business?
David: I was working as a sustainability business consultant, making a business case for companies to adopt higher standards of environmental and social performance. While I enjoyed consulting, I was keen to actually launch a business that integrated environmental, social, and economic values.
I wanted to start a sustainable business that related to the four major individual lifestyle choices that impact on the environment:
a) Sustainable transportation – how people travel (e.g. eco-tourism, long distance ride sharing etc).
b) Sustainable building – how people live (green building design)
c) Sustainable consumption – what people do with their incomes (ethical investing, conscious consumerism)
d) Sustainable agriculture and food – how people eat.
I chose the latter because food affects literally everyone – it is the one industry sector that no can say – food, nah that’s not for me. Everyone is involved and so it has the potential to have a big impact.
Coincidentally, I was hired to do a study on the economics of sustainable community food systems. Through that work I became much more aware of how much power in the food industry is controlled at the retail and distributor levels and how little trickles down to the people who acturally produce the food. I also learned how aternative retailing approaches like farm gate sales, farmers’ markets, and a new concept called organic food delivery, could restore that balance. I chose the latter because I was really looking for a for-profit enterprise and it could be implemented in an urban setting, where I lived.
Cheryl: How did you create the name SPUD?
David: Because I was just looking to create a little demonstration business, I looked for a suitably modest name. Because the business involved food, with an emphasis on produce, I thought it would be appropriate to call it “Small Potatoes”. I also wanted to highlight the delivery aspect. The initials for Small Potatoes Delivery, spelled SPD, and it wasn’t a big leap from there to realize that if I added the word “urban” that the initials of “Small Potatoes Urban Delivery” would spell SPUD.
Cheryl: For Sevenwide readers that have never tried organic, let alone any grocery delivery company, how does this all work?
David: It is quite simple actually. Customers just go to spud.com and enter their zipcode to make sure that we deliver to their area and to learn their delivery day (we deliver to each neighbourhood just once a week to reduce delivery costs and fossil fuel emissions). Customers then just click on the “Go Shopping” tab, add the items that they want and then go to the checkout, just like Amazon.
Like many other produce-only delivery firms it is possible to order a customized box of organic produce, however there is no obligation to do so, nor is there a requirement to set up a recurring order. Delivery is free on most orders over $32 and our prices are competitive with local groceries stores (we even publish price comparisons to provide proof!).
Cheryl: You recently started delivering in the San Francisco Bay Area in the last year. What makes San Francisco a unique location compared to Seattle, Los Angeles, Portland, and Canada?
David: spud! customers in general tend to be very well educated. What is unique about San Francisco customers is that they are the most educated of all of our locations. Over 80% of our San Francisco customers have a university degree and over 40% have two degrees or more! San Francisco customers also value the time and money they save by avoiding shopping trips more than our other locations.
Cheryl: Where do you get your produce from? Does it come from local farmers? What are the names of some of the Farmers you work with?
David: We buy our produce from a large number of local farms. A few examples include: Benzler Farm in Fresno, Jacob’s Farm in Pescadero, Lakeside Organic Gardens in Watsonville, Durst Organic Growers in Esparto, and Twin Girls Farm in Dinuba. We are so passionate about buying local that we publish the distance from each farm to our San Francisco warehouse. I am not aware of any other grocery retailer that has as high a percentage of local products as we do. We vow that we will never be under-distanced!
Cheryl: Besides produce, what other groceries can customers buy from Spud!?
David: Our local suppliers provide us with bakery items, beverages, baby food, dairy products, meat & meat alternatives, prepared meals & soups, snacks, health & home products, and even bulk staples. It is very important to us that our customers be able to order a full range of groceries so that can really avoid a shopping trip.
Cheryl: Does Spud! work with any organizations that give back to the community?
David: We support a variety of non-profit organizations that are compatible with our social mission. For example, currently, we are collecting business suits, dress shirts, shoes, etc for The Riley Centre in San Francisco donations, which assists women in abusive relationships.
Cheryl: What are your plans for Spud! for the future?
David: We are hoping to expand from seven cities today to 24 in the next 5 years. We passionately believe that getting organic and natural groceries delivered from a service like ours is one of the easiest and most powerful things that people can do to reduce their environmental impacts and support their local community. We want to extend our model out to other cities so that people come to associate grocery home delivery with a more local, healthy, eco-friendly and socially beneficial way to buy their food.
Given the rapid decline of our environment, our health, and the social fabric of our communities there is an urgent need for ethical companies to get to scale so they can counterbalance all those big companies out there who only care about making a profit. We believe that business can be a powerful force for creating a better world and we want to be a strong example.
Cheryl: If you could breed two fruits together to make one, what would that be?
David: Grapes and Bananas – I haven’t got a clue what it would make but they are my two favorite fruits.
Cheryl: What special offer do you have for the readers of Sevenwide.com?
David: We would be happy to offer readers of Sevenwide.com $25 worth of free groceries ($5 off their first three orders, and $10 off their fourth order). All they would need to do is enter the promo code SEVENWIDE, when they sign up!
Indigo
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun! And my girls are no exception to that!
Every two weeks, my best girlfriends and I make it a point to get together at a new and trendy restaurant and gossip over delicious food and tantalizing cocktails.
This time we headed over to Indigo Restaurant in Hayes Valley. First off, probably my favorite thing about the restaurant, is that they have no corkage fee. Cant go wrong with that! For dinner (after 8pm), they offer a 3 course, pre-fixed menu with unlimited wine for $59/person. My girlfriends and I decided to go with the option of bringing our own wine and ordered off the menu, instead. So with 9 girls, and 9 bottles of wine, you can imagine how much fun we had!
The ambiance in the restaurant was mediocre. It was completely empty. Not a single soul in the restaurant, other than the 9 of us. Which actually worked well for us; because when we all get together, we can get quite loud and obnoxious.
There weren’t a lot of options on the menu, and the only thing I was really tempted by was the Penne Pasta with Broccolini, a Sun Dried Tomato-Basil Pesto, and Grated Pecorino Romano. And it defintiely satisfied my cravings!
To top of the night, our server brought out a couple orders of Sorbet Trio’s on the house!! And speaking of our server, he was great! He was very attentive to our needs, constantly making sure wines of bottles were opened and that our glasses were filled.
Highly recommend this place for a Girls Night Out Dinner!
Local Kitchen and Wine Merchant – A Hidden Gem in SoMa
As much as I love living in the Soma/South Beach district of San Francisco, I hate that when the weekend rolls around, the streets feel like a ghost town. The sandwich shops, Specialty’s and Toaster Oven, are closed. And Starbucks closes early. Yeah, there are the restaurants on Steuart, but how many times can I eat at Ozumo, Boulevard, and Americano without burning a hole in my wallet. Today, with the help of a friend of mine, I found a spot on Rincon Hill that will likely become one of those spots in which the waitstaff and chefs will come to know me.
It’s called Local Kitchen and Wine Merchant.
And who knew that Sundays, of all days I could have gone there, was all-you-can-eat Pizza night. Score! When you walk in through the main door of the restaurant, you will find a quaint wine tasting room on the left hand side (where they offer wine tastings daily). Then you walk through another door, and find the main dining area, and an open kitchen in front of you. The ambiance is very warm and comforting. We got seated, and before we knew it, waiters started coming around to our table offering a slice of their wood-fired pizza: Tomato and Basil, Roasted Mushroom and Green Olive, Veggie, Pepperoni and Coppa, Shrimp and Pesto, Hawaiian and much more. The pizza’s just kept coming, and you could just keep eating. Can’t get better than that, right?
It can. All of this for just $12.95 per person. Furthermore, they also offer $9 carafe’s of red and white wines. How have I never stumble across this place before?
The pizza wasn’t quite near Delfina-calibur (my favorite pizza place in the city), but for the price and ambiance, I’m really not complaining. I am just glad that I found a place within walking distance from my pad that satisfies my Sunday night cravings.
Vik’s Chaat Corner – Cheap, Fast, and Unbelievably Delicious Indian Food Just Outside the City
Living in San Francisco, there really is no excuse to venture outside the city limits for good, quality food. From American Cuisine to Cuisine from the Yucatan, you can pretty much find something that fancies your cravings. However, when it comes to Indian Cuisine, San Francisco doesn’t quite meet the mark. I mean yes, you’ve got the fast-food-type Naan N Curry and the more fancy-sit-down-type New Delhi, but when it comes to the REAL kind of Indian food, nothing compares to Vik’s Chaat Corner in West Berkeley.
Roughly once every three to four weeks, I venture outside the city limits of San Francisco to get my monthly fix on two things: Eyebrow threading and Vik’s Chaat Corner.
Set on Allston Way, neighbored by empty warehouses and old houses, Vik’s Chaat Corner is probably Berkeley’s best kept secret. And having often been called the best Indian Restaurant in the Bay Area, Im surprised more people don’t know about it.
It is very fast paced in Vik’s. Usually, no matter what time of day you go, there is a line forming out the door. There is kind of a methodology to this place. Being a regular there, I pretty much know what to order: One Dahi Papdi Chaat, One Bhatura Chole, and a can of Diet Coke. As the not-so-regular patrons are looking at the large chalkboard menu posted on one of the walls, pondering what to order, my partner-in-crime heads straight to the counter and orders our dishes, while I scour the cafeteria-style warehouse for an empty table (which is a rarity, by the way). Wanting ambiance? Forget about it.Don’t expect much decor at Vik’s, its all about the food here.
While we’re sitting at our table, pretty much always sticky and dirty, we hear names being called out on a microphone. Sandra. Gopal. Dave. Madhu. All you’re doing as you sit there on your table, with your spoons (no forks and knives here) and stack of napkins (trust me, you’re going to need a stack of them), is waiting for your name to be called. As soon as you hear your name, nothing else in the world matters but the fact that you have your dish and are about to indulge in pure bliss.
Here are a few quick and easy facts about Vik’s Chaat Corner:
Cuisine: Indian roadside snacks, mostly vegetarian
Price: Everything ranges from $3-6
Best Item on Menu: Bhatura Chole, hands down
Noise level: When full, very loud. And it is pretty much always full.
Service point: Efficient, quick and to the point. Don’t come expecting fluffy, bubbly personalities.
Where: 726 Allston Way (@ 4th Street) –> they are moving to another location in July 2009 so check the website for updates on their location
Hours: 11 am – 6 pm, closed Mondays.
Sunday Brunch at Circa
I gotta say, there is something about having my best girlfriends and I reminsce about the antics from the nights before during a nice Sunday Brunch in the City. My friends and I have defintiely experienced our share of nightlife over the years, however, it wasnt until recently that we started making it out to popular Brunch places the next day. And it has now become my most favorite part of the weekend.
This afternoon, we went to Circa in the Marina, and it was absolutely fabulous. They had a DJ spinning music, bottomless Mimosas, and incredible dishes that are prepared to its finest. My girlfriends and I spent 4 and a half hours there: enjoying our Mimosas, reminiscing about the night before, and talking about the good, the bad, and the ugly about life.
Dishes, amongst the 6 of us, we ordered the following: (1) Egg White Scrambled Eggs with Ham, Mushroom, and Cheddar Cheese ; (2) Sourdough French Toast with bananas, strawberries, and cream; (3) Huevos Rancheros; (4) Sliders; and (5) Lobster and White Truffle Mac and Cheese. All were absolutely exquisite, although my favorite would have to be the Huevos Rancheros.
Mimosas: Our lovely host always kept the Carafe’s coming. However, the Mimosa’s werent always consistent. Sometimes they would look so diluted (aka super strong) and other times it would look like straight OJ. Regardless, you can never go wrong with bottomless Mimosa’s.
Music: I absolutely love that Circa has their resident DJ spinning music during their Sunday Brunch. It is by no means obnoxious and overbearing, just at a perfect enough volume to hear the beats yet not feel like youre talking over the music. It brings this amazing energy and awesome vibe into the restaurant that you can’t find at other brunch places in the city.
I will definitely be bringing myself over to Circa for their Sunday Brunch again!