SpeedFeed is developing a solution to a common problem of busy college students—how to find healthy food with the least amount of effort.
SpeedFeed, a grocery delivery service launched this semester, looks to provide students with fresh produce from Harris Teeter delivered directly to their dorms. After a successful test run, founders Ade Okunyade and Chetan Reddy, both freshmen, and Shivee Gilja, a sophomore, are revising the company's business model.
“I’d been playing around with this idea in my mind, but I didn’t think I’d be the one to start it up,” Gilja said.
Students interested in the delivery service can fill out an online form and select “bundles” that range from the “Hangover Bundle” to the “Breakfast Bundle.” SpeedFeed’s website has also posted healthy eating tips.
According to Okunyade, SpeedFeed aims to make grocery shopping easier for students due to the “inconvenience and inaccessibility of large supermarkets.” Even its founders acknowledge their personal need for such a service.
“We recognize that it can be pretty hard to stay healthy on a college campus or even just get the snacks you want,” Gilja said. “Right before [Reddy and Okunyade] came to me, I had literally spent the last two weeks thinking, ‘When am I going to go to Harris Teeter and pick up prescriptions and groceries?’”
Gilja noted that the company is currently in talks with Harris Teeter about possibly subsidizing the deliveries. She added that they are currently looking to hire runners, who are responsible for making deliveries and managing orders in particular areas of campus.
“So far, our biggest challenge has been keeping up with all of the orders that we are receiving,” Okunyade said. “We are aiming to cut our response time to the point where someone could order groceries online and have them delivered within the hour.”
Although SpeedFeed has only completed one test run with 18 deliveries, student demand has been high and reception has been positive, Gilja said.
Sophomore Sophia Jamal, SpeedFeed's first customer, said that she appreciated the company's personal touch with SpeedFeed delivering her groceries directly to her door.
“The dining culture at Duke is centered around prepared meals but, in any case, Duke's dining culture is ultimately about customer satisfaction,” senior Greg Lahood, co-chair of Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee, said. “So, if SpeedFeed is able to provide quality products to their customers for reasonable prices, I would say that they fit well into the Duke dining culture.”
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