Selecta celebrates 200th MicroMarket in Europe

14 October 2020, Switzerland: Selecta Group, Europe’s leading unattended self-service retailer, is delighted to announce that it has installed its 200th MicroMarket in Europe with the most recent launch at medical supplies manufacturer Renolit, based in the Netherlands.

Selecta’s award-winning MicroMarkets – branded FOODIE’S in mainland Europe and Express HUB in the UK and Ireland – offer a self-service, ‘grab and go’ refreshment solution for the workplace. Employees can access healthy, fresh lunches, tasty snacks and a range of drinks on site 24/7, boosting productivity and supporting employee engagement and wellbeing.

Selecta’s MicroMarkets have proved particularly attractive as workplaces across Europe have started to re-open and adapt to changes in behaviour since the COVID-19 outbreak. The grab and go stores’ scalable design means they offer a convenient and cost-effective alternative for companies that are opening offices at a reduced capacity and those that are looking for unattended catering options. The contactless, self-serve system is hygienic, easy to clean and supports social distancing measures. While individually packaged fresh food, drink and snack options gives employees peace-of-mind, without having to compromise on health. What’s more, they are available around the clock, helping to limit a lunch-time rush. Selecta has also introduced a range of measures to further promote hygiene and support social distancing, including floor stickers and barriers to create a one-way flow of traffic, and antibacterial stations, and the introduction of distance selection technology on its coffee machines, making the purchasing process truly contactless.

The launch of Selecta’s 200th MicroMarket this month is testament to the Group’s leadership and expertise in this area. Having launched its first MicroMarket in 2016, Selecta’s MicroMarket solutions are now available in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, Ireland and the UK, with plans to further expand across Selecta’s markets by the end of the year.

Christian Schmitz, Chief Executive Officer, Selecta Group, commented, “The global pandemic has accelerated trends among businesses as they respond to a fundamental change in workplace dynamics which we expect to remain in place for the long-term. Over recent months, the entire landscape of office catering has shifted at tremendous speed as businesses increasingly seek more flexible solutions for their organisations and employees. As a result, we’ve seen increased demand for our FOODIE’S MicroMarkets which offer a 24/7, adaptable and compliant solution which can be tailored to individual business needs.”

Jan Marck Vrijlandt, Managing Director, Region Central, Selecta Group, added, “We’re very proud to reach this milestone. We’ve been developing our MicroMarkets proposition for four years and are confident that our market-leading product offers the ideal solution for workplaces that want to offer their employees healthy, easy and affordable food and drink on site.

“We know that the pandemic is going to significantly change the way we work. Our priority is to support businesses in making the transition to the ‘new normal’ of COVID-19 as easy as possible.”

Arjen Valk, Project Manager Facilities at RENOLIT said:

“There was a strong desire within our organisation to ensure that all of our production employees were able to access affordable but most importantly healthy products at any time of the day, which was something traditional catering options couldn’t provide. The FOODIE’S MicroMarket offers us exactly the flexibility that we’ve been looking for through its unmanned solution which is available 24/7. We also get great insights into the dynamic product assortment provided by Selecta and we can ensure that the offering meets the needs of everyone whilst also minimising our food waste.

“It is common knowledge that working irregular shifts requires a lot from our employees. That’s why we’re very consciously investing in a solution that contributes to the health & wellbeing of our workforce. The product offering includes lots of healthy options which we are particularly subsidising so we can support our teams to make healthier choices each day. This allows us to genuinely contribute to the wellbeing of our organisation.”