Show HN: Fresh baked bread, delivered to your door via SMS

by getbreadbox • 12 years ago

29 33 12 years ago

getbreadbox4• 12 years ago

Hi HN!

We're still working hard on finishing up the tech behind this, as well as locking in partnerships with a few more bakeries before we launch with a small group of early customers, but I wanted to post here and gauge interest among the HN folks in SF.

We have about 300 people on our email list so far, and will try to keep our launch small so we can deliver top-notch service, but please sign up if you are interested in this.

The reason we're so excited about this project can be boiled down to logistics. To simplify and streamline logistics, our business is modeled more closely to the milkman than the pizza delivery man. On Sunday, we send out a picture message with one bread choice for each day of the coming week. If you want any of them, you reply via SMS and we bring it to your doorstep.

Since our drivers can make one pickup and then drop off identical products to every customer, delivery becomes far simpler and cheaper.

Lots of smart folks are vying for the one-stop grocery delivery market, and we think it will become a war of logistics for who wins that massive market (personally, I'm pulling for Instacart). We're approaching a different and smaller (but still quite large) market, from a different angle.

Fresh bread is our first product because it's almost universally loved, and it arguably decreases in quality every hour after being baked. Eventually we hope to expand to still-simple, curated line-up of high quality, short shelf-life specialty foods (coffee, cheese, etc.)

tomwalker• 12 years ago

It was common to have your milk delivered every morning until a few decades ago(in the UK at last), with some milk men also doing eggs, butter, orange juice etc.

They have mostly died out. Have you explored why and what you will do to succeed when these people have closed their businesses?

desigooner• 12 years ago

Looks like an interesting service. I'll have to wait until you guys make it to Boston.

On a side note: The picture at the bottom.. isn't it from Scribe Winery? The tasting there was a great experience.

silencio2• 12 years ago

(I live in SF)

You should list some of the bakers you get bread from on the site/signup and not just in the app. I'm hesitating signing up because I have no real interest in bread delivery unless it's from certain bakeries that I know are worth the extra effort over buying a loaf of Acme bread or whatever at the local Safeway or corner market. Like Josey Baker and Arizmendi, which I see in the screenshots. And even then it's like well... I don't just want bread, I also want like a bunch of their other products (scones, croissants, etc.). Maybe I'm better served by Postmates/Taskrabbit, but more bread products than just loaves of bread would be awesome albeit more complicated.

Also if you could deliver Tartine bread I would be so all over that in an instant! Especially right out of the oven :) Even though I like to bake and I have two loaves' worth of dough proofing in my kitchen right now.

koliber• 12 years ago

I would be willing to risk $6 one time to test out the service. If the bread wows me, I would not care which bakery the bread came from. If it underwhelms, I have not lost that much.

dseu2• 12 years ago

6 dollars for a loaf a bread! hahah!

free652• 12 years ago

If it's a big loaf, I guess it would be ok. But I couldn't find any information about that.

getbreadbox4• 12 years ago

The bread we're selling retails for $5 to $7 at local markets, so there isn't much difference in price.

If you're comparing to Wonderbread, then sure $6 is pricy – but it's tough to find a quality loaf of bread on the day it was baked for under $5.

Thank you for the feedback – we know this isn't for everyone, but we're hoping to offer the best quality at a price that compares to retail.

dseu2• 12 years ago

If you think your only competition is Wonderbread, then that makes sense. However, there are places like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods that offer bakery fresh high quality bread that isn't "tough to find" - they're everywhere.

mmanfrin3• 12 years ago

It's a markup, but $6 really isn't much considering it's delivered to your door. People have made similar dismissive statements about a lot of the to-your-door service startups, but the market is flourishing.

mkr-hn• 12 years ago

They're probably saying it from places where $6 is a lot for bread, even delivered.

coltr• 12 years ago

Interesting. Isn't this something a TaskRabbit could do though?

getbreadbox4• 12 years ago

Well, TaskRabbit could do it at a much higher price.

Our thinking is that if you like high quality, fresh bread, then you can sign up to each week have options of different bread from different bakers – and when you see one you like, we'll deliver it to you.

By offering just one product each day, we're able to do deliveries highly efficiently (like newspaper delivery, not pizza delivery), so we're able to deliver a loaf of bread to your house for a price that compares to what you'd pay at the bakery or a market that sells high quality bread.

xn2• 12 years ago

Newspaper delivery is cheaper than a newstand. I hope you can get to the scale where daily delivery with a six-months subscription, for example, is even cheaper than going to a bakery.

mmanfrin3• 12 years ago

Interesting idea, hope you do well.

seancoleman2• 12 years ago

I would love this type of service but with food catered to individuals with gluten-intolerance or celiac disease.

getbreadbox4• 12 years ago

That's definitely on our minds, and we certainly plan to include some g-free breads from time to time. What other foods would you like to see?

seancoleman2• 12 years ago

For me, ready-to-eat health foods. However, healthy is subjective in a world where low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets are promoted by the American Heart Association. I'm not paleo, but it's the best litmus test I use for if food is healthy.

I don't want to discount what you guys/gals are doing. I think this is great and don't let my one data point detract from your mission. There are tons of bread lover's out there, unfortunately I'm just not one of them.

aaronblohowiak• 12 years ago

from time to time doesn't work for people who have full-time gluten intolerance. you need to either support it fully or don't bother diluting your brand.

JCBC• 12 years ago

Looks like a great idea and I signed up to be notified if/when you'll be launching in Vancouver, B.C.!

The price also seems reasonable - we use Cobs Bread for our fresh bread, and a loaf is between $4 and $6.

But I'm curious why SMS was chosen, instead of through a web app? Is the purchase charged through the phone bill this way?

And how will the product be packaged in order to prevent squirrels or other animals from taking a bite if the customer isn't home?

notduncansmith2• 12 years ago

I'm not an employee so I don't speak for Breadbox, but I would imagine they're:

A) Staying lean. A web app means web developers, probably 2-3 (they could probably get by with one right now, or even just a contractor).

B) Making it easy to interface with. You don't need to remember anything, all you need to do is respond when they text you.

SMS is even more efficient than push notifications, since those would require them to build two native apps (if they only build one, they lose a big potential market). Not to mention, you still lose out on customers without smartphones; not as much of a problem these days, but I'm sure they have customers on feature phones.

Also, push notifications can get lost in the shuffle - when one gets a text, though, one typically responds immediately.

SMS is expensive to send, but they may have a way around that, or they just crunched the numbers and save money on SMS over more developers.

pdknsk• 12 years ago

I'm really curious why you have chosen delivery by reply (if that wasn't a term before, now it is), and if the reply is parsed automatically. If so, I predict plenty of costumers incorrectly spelling Focaccia and what other fancy bread names there may be, and not getting delivery.

colinsidoti• 12 years ago

I'm excited about this.

I think you'd be better off with a delivery fee instead of rolling it in to the cost. My local wine shop sells fresh baked bread from the local bakery. I go in 2-3 times a week for bread, and they've gotten to know me as a regular. Each loaf is $3 and I'll buy one or two depending on what I'm doing that night.

If I just wanted one loaf, I'd be okay footing the extra $3 for the bread. Walking to the wine shop is pretty freaking annoying, and I think they might resent me for rarely buying cheese/wine.

But if I wanted two loaves, I just can't imagine spending $12.

That's just me. If you take anything away from this post, let it be this: When you come to Boston/Cambridge, get Iggy's bread. Or pick a few North End bakers.

Another thought...maybe go cheap on the bread and build margin into cheese/meats. Call it the Car-cuterie ;)

kgrin• 12 years ago

Since we're recommending Boston-area bakeries, allow me to put in a good word for When Pigs Fly!

wikwocket• 12 years ago

This is a fun idea, and you have a great landing page for it. I hope it takes off!

That said, the idea delivering just bread leaves a dry taste in my mouth (ha ha). I rarely get to work thinking, "You know what I'd like? A loaf of plain bread!"

Have you considered including bagels, butter or spreads, fresh fruit, etc, for people wanting to provide breakfast for the office?

muraiki• 12 years ago

There are some breads that are simply delicious meals in themselves. A local bakery makes this, which I can joyfully eat by itself for a meal: http://www.mediterrabakehouse.com/mtathosfirebread.html

That being said, having some good dipping oil and olives doesn't hurt. :)

notduncansmith2• 12 years ago

I love the idea of the service, and the lander is well-designed.

One bug: you forgot to wrap the down arrow in an anchor tag.

Also, would you guys happen to be hiring?

xn2• 12 years ago

I've been wanting this, so I'm happy to see you launching in PDX, but I want fresh bread every day. It doesn't make sense once a week. Fresh bread delivered today isn't fresh bread tomorrow.

I'd love to get a Lovejoy Bakers sourdough baguette or a New Seasons french baguette delivered every morning, maybe with fresh squeezed orange juice.

jamhan• 12 years ago

Err, bread can't be delivered via SMS. Perhaps you should write: "Order by SMS and have it delivered to your door"

Show HN: Fresh baked bread, delivered to your door via SMS

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