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The availability of healthy nutrition in the office is becoming a must-have in companies all around the world.

The best way to offer snacks 24/7? An automatic vending machine.

However, the time of dusty, boring boxes dispensing a readymade drink or snack in times of high need (aka when the canteen is closed) is over. Even the old types of “healthy” vending machines are making way for a new generation, the generation of the robot vending machine, which prepares your healthy snack live while you're watching.

Vending 2.0, as we call it, is starting to play a significant role in workplace wellbeing and employee health & happiness. We are now talking vending robotics, personalized nutrition, IoT connection and contactless technology.

Robotic vending machines can offer a new kind of workplace experience. An experience that fits perfectly within the New Way of Working and can, therefore, play an important role in the war for talent.

At Alberts, we’re on top of what moves in the world of personalized nutrition and vending robots. 

We’ve summarized how we play into 3 big vending trends that every Facility Manager should know about. Here they are!

Trend 1: More variety in the healthy food offering at work

Trend 2: Adoption of a holistic SHE-approach

Trend 3: The extra catering dimension of Vending+

Trend 1: More variety in the healthy food offering at work

Fortunately, we see that all the noses are pointing in the same direction: employees want to eat healthier, employers see the benefits, and food service providers are continuously exploring new ways to meet the needs of both parties.

Now, there are good ways to run healthy workplace initiatives and then there are better ways.

The most common initiative of choice for employers in terms of healthy nutrition and healthy snacking almost always ends up being limited to… fresh fruit baskets. They’re meant to encourage people to eat more fruit, but the efforts are wasted on people who actually don’t need it. It’s the fruit lovers and health buffs who enjoy this healthy initiative. And I’m sure they are very happy with you for thinking of them, too! But the goal is, however, not reached.

Read more: Healthy Eating Habits at Work? It’s Easy if You Do It Smart!

Today’s workforce is expecting more. The new generation wants to try new things and they want access to those foods they crave in a specific moment. 24/7 fresh & healthy snacking is not just a trend. It’s a must-have for employees in the current work environment. 

“A healthy workplace offers 24/7 fresh, healthy snacks”

For 80% of Millennials, who currently account for about half of the workforce (growing to 75% in 2025), an employer is expected to offer healthy food at work. 65% of Millennials find it essential or important to have 24/7 access to vending services in the office. (Sodexo, Reimagining the Employee Experience)

So, why not combine both aspects, healthy food and vending services, and opt for a healthy vending machine that makes healthy snacking at work possible whenever you have a need for it? 

We believe the key to make it all work is personalized nutrition. The Vending 2.0 generation goes from simply dispensing a shelf-stable food product overflowing with additives to plug’n play micro-factories placed inside your office building. Your food product is produced on the spot without the need for additives or preservatives while opening up the possibility to personalize your order on the fly. 

“32% of Alberts Smoothies are already personalized”

In a world of mass production, consumers want to feel unique. In the case of our smoothie robots, we see that this trend is definitely catching on. 32% of employees are already taking advantage of the option to personalize their smoothies to fit their personal taste preferences and dietary needs. 

Trend 2: Adoption of a Holistic SHE-approach

We talk to Facility Managers, Catering Managers and HR Managers on a daily basis. We’ve noticed that the need for a holistic approach to Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) would mean a significant benefit in catering and one that can be found in vending.

All stakeholders want the same thing, but the key is to get everyone to work together. We also see this in the requirements for the WELL Building Standard: health and nutrition are crucial elements to be granted the certificate.

Fortunately, the intrinsic motivation is there. Companies want to stand out with their healthy food offering. For example, promoting the consumption of fruit and veggies at work and educating employees on the health benefits of maintaining a balanced diet can contribute to being granted a WELL Building certificate. 

As an example, Alberts meets each of the SHE-ambitions:

• Health: each smoothie is freshly prepared the moment you place your order, thanks to the technology of the food robot solution we offer. Alberts Smoothies consist of fruit & veggies and water. Our ingredients are frozen to guarantee optimal nutrient retention. You won’t find any juices, purees or powders in our blends.
• Environment: the smoothies themselves are zero food waste, because the ingredients are frozen. The packaging is eco-friendly as well. The cups are made of a sugarcane derivative called bagasse, which is tree-free, biodegradable and compostable. Our straws are made of apple fiber and are edible.
• Safety: our system is completely contactless, which is a major benefit in times of Covid-19. You can make your own smoothie recipe using the Alberts App, after which you scan a QR code. Paying is also touchless thanks to the integrated NFC payment. Your recipe is prepared in a safe environment by our smoothie robot. All you have to do is grab your smoothie and enjoy it when it’s ready! The integrated Clean-in-Place system makes sure the next person can order a fresh smoothie all over again.

Trend 3: The extra dimension of Vending+

New vending solutions are digital and connected. They can act as a stepping stone for all-round wellbeing programs at work. 

We are currently putting our own ideas into practice. Our clients seem to really appreciate the opportunity to communicate about their wellbeing programs all year round through our devices. 

Each of the Alberts Blending Stations has a touch screen that can become a communication channel for our clients with their workforce. If an employer wants to communicate around a health initiative, they can do so through the screens of our Blending Stations. 

We saw really good examples of this during the peak of the corona crisis in Belgium.

We were asked to install smoothie vending machines at two hospitals in Antwerp. On one machine, we showed selfies and personal messages from Belgian citizens thanking the medical workers for all their efforts, motivating them to keep up the good work. 

In the other hospital, the management created their own video with messages of thanks and support for the dedication of each of the healthcare heroes that gave their all to their patients during Covid-19.

Last but not least, Alberts is currently partnering up with European organizations for the Persfo project within EIT Food. The goal is to launch an app that will provide personalized nutrition recommendations. The app will keep in mind your personal needs, health goals and taste preferences. 

The future of food is a world where everything is connected: receiving personalized advice on what to eat and having a food robot preparing it for you.

Hey, Siri, are you ready for that?!

A strong immune system has always been super important to stay as healthy as possible. It helps protect you from all bacteria and viruses and especially today, we need to take care of our health as much as possible. 

We decided to share our two cents about how to strengthen your immune system with food in order to bolster yourself maximally.

Your immune system: how it works

Your immune system needs enough energy to make immune cells to protect our body from getting sick (Forbes). Your immune system is responsible for keeping “foreign invaders” out of your body. If they do enter, the cells need to start fighting against this invader (Verywell Health).

Another way to boost your immune system, besides healthy eating habits, is getting enough sleep. It’s very important that you stay home once you start feeling sick or start coughing (Business Insider). Taking a rest will give your immune system the ability to recover faster from the virus’s attack and it will prevent the virus from spreading to other people. This will flatten the curve of infected people. 

In times like this, it is also more important than ever to follow the general health guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO). There’s no “golden rule on how not to get infected by the coronavirus”, but every part of your body simply functions better when your immune system is strong and bolstered by healthy living practices (Harvard Health Publishing). The WHO also continues to publish information and new advice to stay safe and protect yourself in the best way possible.

The truth is that there’s no magic solution or food that will protect you completely from any virus. However, you can make efforts to prematurely boost your immune system and, consequently, protect yourself. And a healthy diet plays a huge part in that!

Foods that boost your immune system

Vitamins and minerals are key to a healthy lifestyle, and some of them even contain extra nutrients to boost your immune system! 

Below you find a list of foods that enhance your immune system so it can defend your body at full force.

Vitamin C is the main vitamin to boost your immune system. It can only be found in fruit and vegetables. You’ll mainly want to look for citrus fruits, but also cabbage and potatoes.

Vitamin D has the ability to deduce the risk of respiratory infections. Catch some sun if the weather is nice or eat fatty fish like salmon. You might be surprised to learn that eggs also contain vitamin D (Gezondheidsnet, NYTimes).

Green vegetables and leafy greens consist of many vitamins and minerals, making them the perfect addition to your healthy meal! (Science Daily)

Superfoods, like nuts, berries and green tea, will empower you with many antioxidants to keep your immune system in good shape (Business Insider).

Ginger may help your body to resist bacteria and decrease inflammation (Healthline).

Lastly, garlic has immune-boosting properties that have recognized value in fighting infections (Healthline).

Practice food safety and hygiene at all times

Protecting yourself also means taking extra care while food prepping to ensure food safety. Even though the coronavirus is not spread by food or water itself, it is spread by sneezing, coughing and not washing your hands often.

So the point is: maintain basic hygiene in the kitchen. Always wash both your hands before preparing or consuming food. Always rinse your fruit and veggies to wash away physical contaminants and bacteria from the supermarket (Men’s Health).

Here’s a thing you should not do: there’s no need whatsoever to hoard or stockpile on non-perishables or other food (VRT NWS). Supermarkets are adding food to their stock every day. The government is aware as well that everyone needs food in the upcoming weeks, so supermarkets will remain open as usual here in Belgium. 

Stockpiling food will more often than not result in food going bad. Make sure to check the food labels and shelf-life of all food products before you buy or consume them.

Sleep, healthy food and hygiene have always been the main factors to build your immune system, but of course our bodies have their limitations. 

Keep up with these tips and then you’re doing everything that’s in your power to stay healthy!

Exam period has hit the town and you know what that means… your valuable student brain is gonna get a serious workout, your kids are gonna need some mother’s love (aka home-cooked food) and educators are mentally preparing for a load of exam papers they have to evaluate.

Exam period is a challenging test of endurance. Logically, everyone will need foods that boost your brain at some point. Therefore, healthy food for exam time is vital to keep performing well during the seemingly insurmountable challenge that is called FINALS.

If your mother is not available to cook for your every day, then this article is for you.

A Basic Survival Kit for Exam Time

Food plays an important part in keeping your brain healthy. It’s important because consuming the right nutrition can improve specific cognitive tasks, such as memory and concentration. These are two vital things for both students and educators this time of year!

Treat your brain like the priceless, powerful machine it is and reap the benefits.

Science tells us that some foods increase awareness and mental sharpness, while some foods make us lethargic or give us brain fog. Choose wisely :) 

Increasing your brain power with these healthy snacks for final exams

Some foods, such as the fruit and veggies mentioned in the list below, but also coffee and tea, have antioxidants that can help protect your brain from damage.

Other ingredients, like nuts, contain necessary nutrients that support memory and brain development.

Why don’t you make a list of healthy exam food as inspiration for the next few weeks? Use the list below to get your started.

Omega 3

Next to plant-based sources (like chia seeds, walnuts, soybeans, seaweed and algae, edamame, kidney beans and soybean oil), Omega 3 is found in relatively big quantities in fatty fish. Omega 3 is a major building block for the brain. It improves your memory power and positively influences your mood. Omega 3 also protects the brain from aging.

Blueberries

All dark berries are packed with antioxidants, and vitamins C and K. These nutrients delay brain aging and improve memory capacity. Because of their high levels of gallic acid, blueberries are especially good at protecting our brains from degeneration and stress. 

These Alberts Smoothies are rich in berries: Berrytastic, Strawberry Scream, Purple D

Caffeine

The chemical substance adenosine, which makes you sleepy, is blocked when you consume caffeine. So, coffee can serve as a boost for alertness. Caffeine also boosts some of your “feel good” neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, which leaves you with a good mood. Green tea is an excellent beverage to power up your brain as well. Its caffeine content boosts alertness, its antioxidants protect the brain and the L-theanine helps you relax. Consuming too much caffeine can have negative effects, though, so beware! You could feel irritable, sleepless and anxious which is the opposite of what you want right now! 

Turmeric

Turmeric and its active compound curcumin have strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits that can evoke a healthy brain boost. Research has shown that turmeric can reduce symptoms of depression and Alzheimer’s disease, so it can only be good during exam time, too, right?

Leafy greens

Romain lettuce, kale, swiss chard and turnip greens are packed with Vitamins A and K. Consume more of these, especially during finals, and experience better memory capabilities compared to those who don’t eat leafy greens!

Broccoli & Celery

Both broccoli and celery contain nutrients, like powerful antioxidants and vitamins, which you will need this period of the year. They are also low on calories, so they make for great healthy snacks to keep your mouth busy during the exams.

Not a fan of celery? Try these Alberts Smoothies: Pina Celery, Smoothcelery

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Having a salad? Consider adding extra virgin olive oil for its powerful antioxidants. The polyphenols in the oil can improve your learning and memorizing abilities. It’s better to consume straight from the bottle though, because heating up the oil will hydrogenizes and decomposes it.

Nuts

Give your brain a boost by consuming nuts as a snack. They are packed with brain-boosting nutrients including Vitamin E and healthy fats for energy.

Pumpkin seeds

Rich in many micronutrients that are important for brain function, pumpkins seeds are full of copper, iron, magnesium and zinc for example.

Last but not least: stay hydrated! If you’re wondering how to boost your brain power naturally, one of the most critical things is that you stay properly hydrated while studying and taking exams! 

Ready to rock the exams? Share your achievements and hardships on social media with #StudyWithAlberts and tag us so we can cheer your on!

Alberts helps you make healthy choices by making healthy food accessible to everyone everywhere, at any time. 

Healthy eating starts with consuming varied meals. We speak of a balanced diet when your plate contains more plant-based and natural products (as they are more nutrient-dense) than animal and processed products. 

Nevertheless, eating healthy seems more easily said than done for a lot of us. 

No matter how good your intentions may be, many have the unhealthy habit of grabbing for the first snack at hand (which often isn’t fruit) or going for the easiest solution (chocolate bar anyone?) to satisfy their hunger or cravings. 

It requires a lot of effort and determination to change a lifestyle. But being aware of the disadvantages of unhealthy eating habits might encourage you to take action. 

THE EFFECTS OF UNHEALTHY FOOD

When you observe decreased productivity in the workplace, take a look at your employees’ eating habits. 

After eating a sugary snack, you’ll notice that your staff experiences a short sugar rush. But after every high comes a low. The way you typically try to get out of a low, is by consuming more of what gave you the high: so more sugar it is! 

It’s better to prevent the lows and cravings in the first place. Making healthy snacks more easily available than the unhealthy (sugary) kind is a great place to start. 

There are, after all, so many benefits of healthy eating at work to take into account. By serving employees healthy food throughout the day, you can avoid energy crashes and keep the brain properly fueled. This means more productivity and higher concentration levels.

Choosing a fruit bar over a chocolate bar will boost your brainpower for much longer. It also won’t affect your weight in the same way a chocolate bar will. Neither will you experience sugar lows (nor productivity decrease). 

THE SMART EATING SOLUTION(S)

There are a lot of “smart eating” initiatives popping up to help you become aware of your unhealthy reflexes and to change your habits. It was never easier to give shifting to healthy eating habits a go.

From the optimization of food labels and apps that help you find healthier alternatives in the supermarket, to the introduction of smart devices (such as the Alberts Blending Station) and corporate wellness coaches. The number of smart eating solutions is ever increasing. 

Doing a search for healthy foods that give you energy fast or foods that help you concentrate will give you ideas for quick, nifty alternatives. 

But even more so, it might be a good idea to sit down with your employees and discuss which healthy alternatives they would like to have within reach in the office - healthy food and snacks they’ll actually eat.

5 ACTIONABLE STEPS FOR IMPROVING HEALTHY EATING HABITS AT WORK 

Do you want to start (or continue) promoting healthy eating in the workplace? Here are some simple actionable steps to help your employees change their snacking habits. 

1. Take the temptation away. Don’t offer unhealthy snacks at all, or at least not in the immediate workspace. Employees already spend so much energy on doing their job, they shouldn’t waste any more energy on resisting unhealthy snacks. Instead, place healthy snacks within view and reach, and remove unhealthy snacks from the room completely. 

2. Drink enough water. You probably already know that hydrating frequently only has positive effects on your body and brain. Consider making water easily (and freely) available. Consider adding flavors (slices of lemon, mint leaves…) to change things up. There are also apps and gadgets which remind you to hydrate!

3. Well begun is half done. Encourage employees to set up a cooking rotation system, where everybody takes turns cooking for everyone once a week. Encourage employees to create weekly meal plans and make a fridge space available to store homemade meals in.

4. Ask to not eat lunch at the desk. Who wants crumbs in their keyboard anyway? Invite employees to the lunchroom with you. Socializing creates healthy working relationships. In combination with eating consciously, employees will return to their desk re-energized (at least until the unavoidable afternoon dip kicks in).  

5. Make choosing healthy easy and straightforward. Try to balance your food and snack offering in favor of the healthy side. Offer more healthy alternatives and at a better price than the unhealthy food. Put healthy options within view and reach. 

By adding innovation into the mix, changing eating and snacking habits becomes a lot more fun! 

The Alberts Smoothie Station serves fresh smoothies to your employees, personalized to their taste and dietary needs. Made with pure fruit and veggies, they are a healthy alternative for sugary snacks. 

Check out our healthy food solution and contact us for tailored info!

Have you ever suffered from food poisoning? Then you know better than anyone why food safety and hygiene are so important!

Every food manufacturer takes the food safety standards to heart. On top of this, the Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (AFSCA) is responsible for guaranteeing food safety throughout the food system. The Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system is the process control system used to identify potential hazards during the food production process and forces action to prevent the hazards from occurring. The AFSCA strictly monitors and controls each step of the food production processes using the HACCP system, which has become an integral part of the food system. (Searo – WHO)

Nevertheless, food safety is not a foolproof system. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have gotten sick that one time, right?

Let’s look into what food safety is and why it’s important to strive for it, how food can be contaminated and what can be done to prevent the consumption of unsafe foods.

We’ve also got some exciting news at the end we want to share!

What is food safety?

Food safety refers to the production of food in a way that is safe for consumption, limiting the chances of harmful substances being present that could make you sick in the short or long term. Hygiene is an important part of this. (Searo – WHO)

How can food be contaminated?

Contamination happens when living microorganisms are transferred from point A to point B. Food can be contaminated with toxins, bacteria, parasites, foreign materials (like pieces of packaging) etc. The spread of bacteria can happen when you’re buying, preparing, and storing food. Even though the food safety standards are very high in Europe, it’s very difficult to 100% guarantee safe food. Yet, everyone is striving for it!

The fact that we consume a lot of food-related media on, for example, TV is not exactly setting a great example for the average household. It seems like celebrity-chefs are hardly ever (visibly) following basic safe food handling rules (though they must be washing their hands at some point, right?!). (Eufic)

Why is it so difficult to guarantee food safety?

Let’s start with the seemingly obvious. You can usually recognize good quality food by the quality of its origin, color, flavor, texture, processing method. Logically, bad quality foods normally show visible spoilage, dirt, discoloration, bad taste or bad odor. (Searo – WHO)

The hard thing is, however, that bacteria, viruses and the like are untraceable by the naked eye. You can’t taste or smell them either. When you eat a piece of unsafe food, you’ll most likely get sick. That time you got food poisoning, you most likely didn’t notice the food was bad, did you?

Salmonellae (found mostly in animal products and especially poultry) are some of the best known pathogenic bacteria. They are undetectable and cause food poisoning symptoms (which usually go away without any lasting consequences if treated well).

Nevertheless, a contaminated food product can be dangerous without posing a risk to your health. Usually what matters is how big your intake of the substance is.

Let’s look at an example. On the one hand, water isn’t dangerous, but it can be if you drink too much of it. On the other hand, small consumptions of other substances can pose an immediate risk. Just think about people with allergies and intolerances.

New project to facilitate ensuring food safety (AgrEUfood)

At Alberts, we take food safety and hygiene very seriously. We have carefully selected our suppliers to ensure that, even during transportation, our ingredients are stored at the legal storage temperatures. After all, once cut and peeled, fruit and veggies have lost their barrier to the outside world and their natural defenses have been compromised. That’s why, from harvest to production, our fruit and veggies are always kept frozen at -18°C as suggested by the AFSCA. The staff cleaning the machine is trained to ensure hygiene and safety at all times as well.

In general, ensuring that all potential hazards during food production are avoided requires a lot of testing for bacterial contaminations, which is a complicated and expensive process. Currently this is done by regular sample testing in specialized labs. This can take up to a week. Of course, this means that contaminations are often not detected in time.

With the AgrEUfood project, which is approved and funded by Interreg Vlaanderen-Nederland, all research partners will be working towards an affordable and fast way to test food products during production for potential bacterial contaminations. Recently a sensor technology was developed that, using synthetic receptors and thermal resistance measurements, can detect such bacterial contaminations. After first successful lab tests, the Alberts Smoothie Stations will be one of two real-life use cases in which the sensors will be tested.

Learn more about the AgrEUfood project >

Frozen food is on the rise. This is largely because of its convenience. According to the latest reports, out of all segments, especially Millennials seem to buy into the frozen trend, buying 43% more frozen food in 2017. 89% of millennials who buy frozen food do so because they see it as a quick dinner solution. 54% of them believe frozen food to be healthier than the processed variant. In general, for people who plan to buy more frozen food in the future, 41% says this is mainly because of convenience. (Grocery Dive, 2017)

But there are still a lot of questions about frozen food. We try to address some concerns in this post and will happily receive any questions you may have after reading the article! We’ll also go into some of the benefits of frozen food that have shown to be extremely useful in our own use-case. 

Frozen food vs. fresh food

Fresh bio fruit and vegetables straight from the kitchen garden, it doesn’t get healthier than that. 

However, when fresh produce is harvested it immediately starts to lose nutrients. As such, it is super important to consume them as soon as possible! But... that isn’t always a practical or viable option. 

Some produce comes from quite far away. Just think about the travel time combined with the time the product is in the supermarket - you do the math!

Sometimes, fresh may not always be best. 

Is frozen food healthy? 

Even though new studies show promising numbers that frozen food consumption is becoming more popular, frozen food is still perceived by many to be an unhealthy option. That’s partly due to the fact that frozen ingredients are cheaper and are therefore perceived as being of inferior quality. (Frozen Food Europe, 2017) 

Common misconceptions are that frozen food: 

• loses most of its nutrients
• is not as tasty as the fresh variant
• contains preservatives (like salt and sodium)

Let’s look into these statements and see what’s the deal about them!

Is frozen food good for you?

Let’s get it out of the way: frozen food can be good for you! 

Fruit and veggies are frozen within a few hours of harvesting, that means while being at their optimum ripeness. Therefore, all that’s good about the fresh produce remains “frozen in time”. (Eufic, 2011)

It has even been observed that, after being frozen, in some food products the value of some nutrients, such as vitamins A, C and E, may become greater compared to their fresh counterparts. This can be explained due to natural nutrient degradation during storage. 

“You can store them in the freezer for a year and the nutrient level pretty much stays the same”

• Hazel MacTavish-West, Food Industry Consultant (qtd in NPR, 2018)

A study from the University of Georgia (UGA) and the Frozen Food Foundation compared the nutrient content of eight of the most commonly purchased frozen and fresh fruit and veggies. The results showed that the nutritional value of many frozen fruits and veggies are generally equal to that of the fresh counterpart. (Frozen Food Europe, 2017) 

What is the expiration date of frozen food?

Because they are locked in time, the expiry date of frozen food is extended and you can store them for a very long time. Seeing as we are experiencing a rise in food waste (30% of all fruit and veggies worldwide are thrown away!), the fact that we can safely freeze and store fruit and veggies for later is a key solution! 

In addition, your favorite fruit and vegetables are not available year round. By freezing them, you can still eat your favorite ingredients (even when they aren’t in season!). And you don’t even need preservatives as no microorganism develops at the temperature below -9.5°C. The only danger exists when you unfreeze food. Make sure you defrost frozen food the right way!

Doesn’t frozen food lose its taste?

When people fear that frozen foods lose their taste they are partially right. When food is being frozen for a very long time, the taste and quality may reduce in some products. But in general, all fruit and veggies will stay in shape for at least a year (Eating Well)

But you should know that you can’t freeze all foods. Some veggies (like lettuce) and fruits (like oranges) practically disintegrate when you freeze then thaw them. 

At Alberts, we use a technique called IQF (individually quick-frozen). The advantage is that during this process only small ice crystals are formed instead of the big ones that might rupture cell walls. That would result in damaged products upon thawing. In general, we avoid ingredients at Alberts that would risk impeding the quality of our smoothies. 

And the only thing we want is to serve you healthy, fresh and nutritious smoothies!

Alberts One uses IQF fruit and veggies to make freshly prepared smoothies. Our freezers store ingredients at -18°C, which is the recommended temperature by the FAVV (The Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain). 

If you’d like to know more about our smoothies and vending machine, feel free to email us at team@alberts.be