MealPal is a monthly subscription service connecting members to cheap lunches from partner restaurants

Though a favourite, the old stereotype of Barry’s dinner leftovers stinking up the office every lunchtime may be on its way out if the multitude of food delivery startups servicing our cities’ CBDs have their way.

One of the latest looking to brighten up the average work’s lunchtime is MealPal. Launched into Melbourne last week, MealPal was founded by former college roommates Mary Biggins, cofounder of ClassPass, and Katie Ghelli, formerly of ZocDoc, to provide a cheaper way for time-conscious office workers to buy lunch every day.

Taking inspiration from ClassPass, MealPal works via a 30 day membership. Customers pay a total fee each month, for either 12 meals priced at $7.99 each cycle or 20 meals at $7.49, with the ability to order their meals from partner restaurants on whichever days they choose within that cycle.

Orders can be placed from 5pm the evening before through to 9.30am the morning of, with the meal then ready for pick up at lunch time, allowing them to skip the wait in line.

Said Biggins, “Prior to MealPal, I struggled to get a good workday lunch. I’m impatient and cost-conscious, so always found delivery expensive and waiting in line for food inefficient. MealPal solves both of those problems by making weekday lunches affordable and efficient to pick up.”

As it turns out, the lunch rush isn’t an outlet’s favourite time of day, either. As they did their research, Biggins said the cofounders heard a “similar theme” from many restaurants – high customer demand at peak times, combined with increasing labour costs, made the lunch rush particularly difficult. Read more

Gina Baldassare - Startup Daily - 4 Sep 2017