Pantry builds a combined hardware and software kiosk platform to deliver fresh, healthy food via unattended retail — the next generation of vending machines. The company partners with onsite cafés and branded local producers (examples include Stanford Hospital, Mixt Greens, and Cisco Systems) to extend 24/7 access to grab-and-go sandwiches, salads, and beverages. Pantry’s kiosks produced a notable operating result at Stanford: first-month sales of $3,500 versus roughly $500/month from the prior preservative-laden vending machine, a seven-fold increase. The startup says its approach shortens the distance between kitchen, consumer, and kiosk and targets high-density locations across campuses, hospitals, and offices. Future plans described in the article include expanding kiosk assortments into residential buildings, stocking top-selling grocery SKUs, and retailing meal-kit style products with pre-cut ingredients. Financially, the three-year-old company recently added capital to support growth: it secured a $1M seed financing round last month, bringing total funding to $2.3M since inception. Pantry provides smart refrigerators that organizations such as universities, hospitals, and gyms can stock with fresh foods available for purchase at any time. The units use a modified Android tablet with an attached credit-card reader and RFID technology to detect items removed and automatically charge the swiped card. The system tracks inventory and records when items were placed in the fridge to help ensure freshness and signal when restocking is needed. Pantry has completed pilots at Stanford Hospital and UCSF and those organizations are expanding availability with additional units. The company is pursuing further trials at university campuses like Stanford Business School and Academy of Art University, and is exploring deployments in fast-casual restaurant locations to reduce lines and speed checkout. Pantry has raised $1.3 million in funding to support product deployment and expansion.

Total raised

$2M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Seed

Latest activity

Nov 2015