In the office, the salad is often the healthy choice that still ends in a chocolate bar at three. That is usually down to the salad itself: many salads are a side dish sold as lunch. Below you can read when a salad or bowl really replaces a meal and what keeps it fresh, followed by why something else needs to sit next to it.
A salad of lettuce, tomato and cucumber is light, and that is the problem when it has to replace lunch. Whoever picks it to eat healthily is at the snack machine a few hours later. In the office, that is the pattern office snacks describes from the other side.
The second problem is freshness. A salad made yesterday and displayed today looks less appealing and sits there until it nears its date and has to go. That loss falls on whoever carries the stock, which is why the range is steered by what sells.
A salad that works as lunch therefore looks different: more substantial, with a protein source and something filling, and fresh enough to look good. With a hot option next to it, those salads do sell out.
| Salad bar | Sandwich and salad service | Chilled fridge | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fresh | At opening | On delivery | Chilled, with a date |
| Choice | Wide, when it is busy | Whatever was ordered | Several salads and bowls side by side |
| Leftovers | Thrown out after service | Yours | With whoever carries the stock; sales per product keep it small |
| Outside lunchtime | No | No | Yes |
The right-hand column is what we make; feel free to factor that in. A sandwich service with salads is covered under sandwich vending machine.
A bowl with grains, beans or lentils fills you up differently from a plate of lettuce, and for longer.
Egg, tuna, chicken, tofu or dairy. Only with a protein source does a salad become a meal.
Those who need more add a hot dish or something small for later.
We do not give nutrition or health advice. Nutritional values and allergens are on every pack; for individual questions, a dietitian or your occupational health doctor is the right person to ask.
In an office, the fridge is best placed by the coffee corner; see smart fridge for the office.
A fridge with only salads does what a fruit bowl with only apples does: whoever wants something else gets it outside. That is why salads and bowls sit next to hot dishes, dairy and the classic snacks, in a balance you set at the start and then adjust.
What such a fridge costs depends on your people, hours and the share of fresh food; the factors are in what a smart fridge costs.
It is on the pack and varies by salad. The fridge shows dates and sales per product, so whoever restocks takes out what is nearing its date and refills to the rhythm of lunch.
Yes, the bowls with grains, pulses and a protein source are made for that. What each portion contains is on the pack, so everyone can choose for themselves. People doing physical work often add something small for later.
They are a loss for whoever carries the stock, which is why a salad that keeps getting left quickly disappears from the range. The sales per product show it within a few weeks.
Yes, depending on the producers and your supplier. They are labelled recognisably on the pack itself; certification is the producer’s responsibility.
You can, but it rarely works. People who want something else get it outside, and you lose sight of what is eaten. A balance in which salads take a large share next to the classic range holds up better.
Eight short questions about your site. We suggest a range in which salads work as a proper lunch.
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