Peruvian healthy food delivery startup Manzana Verde announces Mexico City launch

Contxto – Mexico City’s «godínez» (office worker) culture will soon have a new healthy dining option with Peruvian meal delivery startup Manzana Verde.

CEO Carlos Andrade recently confirmed to Infomercado that his food delivery service will begin operating in Mexico City as of September 1. This development is part of Manzana Verde’s strategic goals following successful validation in its native Peru. 

“We have set five-year objectives through some milestones,” said Andrade. “The Mexican market is part of those milestones. In Lima, we have validated a market and we have grown. We have a thousand active users.”

Customized meal plans attempt to accommodate users’ increasingly demanding schedules.

“We know that people increasingly have a faster pace of life, that they have less free time to enjoy and share with their family,» said CMO and co-founder Larissa Arias. «That’s why we develop a model according to these needs.”

Unicorn goals

With the hopes of becoming a unicorn, the CEO estimates that his company needs to onboard at least 100,000 active users. New funds will go towards that very mission.

“A large part of these funds allows us to open a new market (Mexico), one of the largest in Latin America, an operation that is part of the milestones we set out five years ago,» said Andrade.

The Andean business providing nutritious meal plans to hungry office workers raised an investment round of US$150,000 not long ago to make this expansion possible. Realizing that Peru only has a viable customer-base of 5,000, prospects are elsewhere.

“Mexico or Brazil will help us grow,” said the CEO. “We chose Mexico City because its idiosyncrasy similar to ours and there live 20 million inhabitants. In addition, it has the highest obesity rates in Latin America and fits perfectly with the Green Apple nutrition proposal.”

By 2020, it hopes to have 10,000 users. Before this happens, it intends to pursue more investment rounds.

From Facebook page to eCommerce platform 

Originally, the sales platform began over Facebook but gradually evolved into an eCommerce sales channel. For many, Manzana Verde’s services are the equivalent of having a virtual nutritionist.

Users input data about weight, height and physical activity to get the most optimized nutrition suggestions and appropriate meal plan.

Last month, the startup also joined the seventh generation of Startup Peru along with 84 other ventures. It was also one of the winning projects for the First National Convocation of Technological Enterprises with Social Impact in November 2017.

It has since then started working with a business incubator at the University of Piura.

-JA