Fast-food has become a cultural norm for the United States. It’s quick, convenient and arguably easy on the wallet. However, the business ethics of the standard drive-thru focused companies has been called into question. Americans want healthier options and are fed up with the lack of them.
Many Businesses Are In The Pursuit of Profits Instead of Purpose
With the way America has transitioned, everything is quick and on the go. Consumers have busy schedules, putting in an average of more than 8-12 hour work days. After a long work day, it is hard for many people to come home and spend an hour or two cooking a warm meal.
This is the pain Salad and Go owner, Roushan Christofellis and her husband felt. They felt there was a trade-off many Americans had to make.
Either you spent a few dollars and a couple of minutes for an unhealthy meal or you spent more money, more time and more effort into feeding your body the right nutrients. This is when she thought of growing a business of her own.
By experiencing the trade-offs first-hand, she wanted to make sure she could create a business strategy that would make a difference.
From the beginning of her journey, she made it her mission to make customers happy and improve customer service by creating a healthy, inexpensive, quick alternative: Salad and Go.
We’ve all had that questioning epiphany where we realize that it is less than $5 for a warm meal in comparison to a $12 salad. Why is it easier to eat unhealthy than to eat healthy?
She knew that the reason there wasn’t more healthy drive-thru chains is because the cost for ingredients and quality is much higher than what competitors where paying. Consumers try to save as much of their hard earned dollars when they can… sometimes at the expense of their health.
She was at a competitive disadvantage.
That is why her business strategy defied fast food chains.
Instead of having high business expenses and low quality ingredients, she flipped it. Christofellis instead lowered her business expenses by using a 656 sft building to lower her start-up costs. She then used the difference in startup costs to improve the quality of her food. She is now able to provide top-notch, quality, healthy food for under $6.
In a recent interview with the Fast Company, Christofellis honored her purpose as the key to her growing success. Her purpose was never to make a lot of money off of her consumer base.
She simply wanted people to have options.
Whether it was someone who could afford an expensive salad everyday or someone who wanted to swap their few dollars into a healthy meal, her purpose was to fulfill a need in her community.
When it seemed impossible to fulfill, she stayed tied into her driving force, her purpose. These are the business ethics that more entrepreneurs should employ.
The power of purpose is life changing.
Christofellis’s story is just one example of what is like to be a purpose-driven organization.
