Things Colleen and I have spent an Inordinate Amount Of Time Thinking About, March ‘24 Edition:

🪲 Finding a local, vegan sprinkle company that we can order in bulk from (we try to stay local as much as possible). Didn't know most sprinkles aren't vegan? We didn't either until recently. Shellac is used in confectioner's glaze, which gives sprinkles and other candies their shine. Shellac is made from the secretions of lac beetles. Historically, the secretions would be scraped off trees in the wild, but in 2024, you can bet this operation is factory-farmed. On average, nearly 100,000 bugs die to produce about 1 pound of shellac flakes.

📦 Systems & team workflow for single-use (compostable), reusable, and "returnable" packaging. The first two are straightforward but the third is not. It's a matter of when, not if, fast-casual businesses like ours will be required to offer them to customers—a great initiative that we are on board with, though I am concerned about the number of "returnable" companies that are popping up that require businesses to use their systems exclusively. If several companies operate in a given market, will customers have to buy a different box based on which store uses what system? Isn't that also wasteful, and inconvenient? Shouldn't this be something that local governments set up and regulate?

🚚 Cargo vans & trucks: We've been obsessively researching Ford E-Transits and Ford Lightnings, as we are electrifying our operations and need a second, larger vehicle. We've been test-loading farmers market gear, calculating the number of charges needed based on range and weight, cost per kWh, and the best times to charge, and reading reviews from delivery drivers on Reddit. Not to mention weighing the pros and cons of buying, leasing, buying then leasing to our business, getting a new one with a rebate, getting one used. Landed on an option that we feel great about!

Ok, that's it for this edition! I'll post one next month too with another list of things I never thought I'd spend so much time thinking about. 😆