Workers in the Central Business District (CBD) can now look forward to shorter waiting times during lunch, thanks to local start-up Feedex. Instead of queuing for food at their favourite eateries, workers are now able to order food with Feedex beforehand and collect them at its outlet.
Food courier or pick-up services are not entirely new in Singapore but what makes Feedex different is how it averts away from the usual healthy-eating concept (or some would say, health gimmick) to something more Singaporean – the homely, delectable hawker food! Customers can thus expect local cuisines such as the nasi lemak and carrot cake.
A total of 7 eateries are partnering with Feedex as of now, including local favourites Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak from Adam Road and Loo’s Hainanese Curry Rice from Tiong Bahru. The team has hand-picked a list made up of restaurants and food joints with their own specialties to provide variety.
“When we talk about food delivery or such services, it has always been about the healthier concept such as having the salad or sandwiches. But we believe there are people out there – the foodies – who just want to eat whatever they want, including sinful food like the Char Kway Teow,” said Ivan Yak, a year 1 Nanyang Technological University (NTU) student and one of the 3 co-founders of Feedex. All 3 of them are 22 years old.
Prices for a set meal by Feedex ranges from S$7.90 to S$8.50. Each set comes with a main dish, a side (can be a dessert, yogurt or cut fruits) and a drink such as a bottled carrot juice. Customers can order via Feedex’s website stating their choice of meals. Ordering time is fixed between 8am to 2pm (or while stocks last) while collection is between 11.45am to 2pm.
Feedex currently uses a cashless system known as Feedex Credits for its payment method. Customers are expected to top up an amount to it and the balance will be deducted after every purchase. It’s really convenient and customer-friendly. There is also a loyalty point system in which customers can redeem a free meal after purchasing 14 orders!
“We offer a takeout service for office workers at a highly reasonable rate. We have noticed this problem of long waiting and queueing time for food in the CBD and have decided to take a radical business decision to solve it. We will keep improving but for now, we are determined to nail the service from the start,” said Ivan.
So what if Feedex itself becomes overwhelmed with subscribers, hence forming long queues in its outlet? Along with Ivan, the other c0-founders of Feedex, Ho Zi Hui and Kapilan, have came up with a two-pronged ingenious solution to this.
First, there will be six collection points within the store itself. This effectively spreads out the queue, creating shorter and faster ‘single queues’. Secondly, Feedex pre-orders a fixed quantity of meals each day. The system allows the company to control the number of orders daily, thus eliminating any form of unexpected long queues.
The adventurous spirit of this 3-men team is evident in their rather unique approach to Feedex. As Ivan aptly puts it, the bootstrapped start-up is indeed a “tongue-in-cheek service in a serious concrete jungle”. Never underestimate the youthfulness of this team though – this Vulcan Post writer is confident that the Feedex service will interrupt the F&B market in the CBD.
Feedex will launch on the 12th of August this year and the Feedex HQ is located at 137 Telok Ayer Street. As part of its launch, the first 500 customers to sign up for its service will be given a FREE lunch!
