5 Ways to Use an Office Snack Crate

"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well." - Virginia Woolf

It's fair to say that one cannot work well without feeding the body well, either! If you'd love to see a boost in office productivity, collaboration, and general well-being, then good office snacks may provide an answer.

To no one's surprise, humans need food to fuel our bodies. The struggle is finding the time between back-to-back meetings and trying to finish your work.

Findings from The National Library of Medicine suggest that eating smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day has positive health benefits, such as lowering the risk of heart disease along with having better levels of cholesterol and insulin.

A study from Brigham Young University indicates that promoting healthy habits at work can make a difference. Those who didn't believe their workplace would support them in becoming healthier were more likely to have a drop in productivity.

5 Ways Snacks for Work Boost Productivity

Shopping for snacks in bulk can be difficult. Your everyday stores are for everyday people. They may not have the amounts you are looking for, and it's a pain to unload and unpack enough food to feed an office by yourself. Even if you can get the snacks delivered, office managers typically have to tap a few different stores. Not to mention, the responsibilities of organizing delivery, restocking, and organizing while making it all look effortless. That's all before even trying to reconcile all those receipts with your finance department. 🥴

Cue office snack crates! Basically, your no-brainer approach to providing snacks in bulk to your team. These snack boxes have the quantities you are looking for, along with an in-office display you need to provide a premium employee experience.

Even more, this snack solution has a wide variety of potential uses. We will explore five ingenious ways to make the most of office snack crates, transforming your workplace into a vibrant hub of creativity, collaboration, and snack-induced bliss.

1. Breakroom Snacks

What else should employers encourage to help boost productivity? Actually taking breaks! It is increasingly necessary to create a workplace culture that encourages breaks. Currently, around 39% of American workers "occasionally, rarely, or never take breaks," with women more than twice as likely not to take a break as men.

When your employees take their breaks, several benefits can filter through the company:

• 94% of workers feel happier when they take a lunch break.
• 91% of employees and 93% of employers surveyed agreed that taking a break helps them maintain mental focus.
• 85% say taking regular breaks improves their overall productivity.

One way to encourage regular breaks is to create a breakroom space that is attractive for employees to use. A nicely displayed snack crate can be the beacon that drives employees to take that break while giving them the energy to complete their next project. It’s a win-win for companies and employees.

2. Collaborative Meetings

Office meetings are often challenging, especially if you need to bring together people who each have competing priorities. When you need your team to work collaboratively and effectively, snacks can be the perfect solution to fuel them up.

According to the World Health Organization, poor nutrition is costing companies up to 20% in productivity. If you've got team members struggling through meetings because they haven't had time to grab something to eat, this is something you can easily remedy with a snack crate.

Food brings people together. This has been true since humans first shared a campfire. You can tap into that feeling of community when you bring people together with shared food at your meetings–whether that's a snack crate or a catered meal.

Having office snacks available can also save time. If you're in a workplace where someone has to take the time to organize refreshments for meetings, you can take that task off their plate via a snack crate. It also saves employees from having to run out to get their own.

3. Team Reviews

Do you hold either monthly or annual team reviews? Sometimes, end-of-period meetings are long, with a lot of information being shared with employees. Maintaining focus can be tough for your team, especially if meetings stretch and empty stomachs are rumbling!

You can help your team maintain engagement by providing them with office snacks to get them through. Consider the timing of your meetings, too. Many people experience a mid-afternoon blood sugar slump that leaves them lethargic and unfocused. Afternoon meetings can coincide with afternoon slumps. Avoid them when you can, but if not, providing healthy snacks can help to combat that natural dip in energy.

4. Client Visits

You have an important client coming into the office to negotiate some terms. Should you offer them food? There are some interesting studies that indicate yes, perhaps you should.

A researcher at Harvard Business Review looked at the habits of business negotiations in different cultures and wondered if those who typically meet with food cultivate any advantages. They set up an experiment where MBA students were to negotiate a complex joint venture. Some negotiated over a meal in a restaurant, some in a workplace conference room with no food, and some in a conference room with food.

The conclusion was that those who ate together created significantly increased profits over those who didn't. Eating together seemed to encourage more mutually productive discussions.

Ordering a snack crate for those key client meetings could help you to have a more fruitful meeting. Your clients will appreciate being offered something to eat.

5. Client Gifts

Corporate gifting is a $242 billion industry that is used to foster relationships and build loyalty. The most popular gift to give in the corporate world is a gift card, making up 37% of the corporate gift industry. The downside of gift cards is that the person receiving the gift is typically the only one who benefits.

Snack crates are a great corporate gift that can benefit your clients' entire team. These shareable gifts are a great way to help your clients improve their office experience by giving them a tool to unite their employees – thanks to you!

There are many different scenarios in which you would want to send a gift to a client:

• Onboarding A New Client: Start a new relationship on the right foot and send one of your new clients a gift. Sendoso surveyed over 1,500 people and 83% of respondents felt closer to companies who sent them corporate gifts.
• After A Mistake: You make your client's lives easier, but on the off chance things go sideways, a box of snacks can help ease the blow.
• Corporate Holiday Gifts: A variety of office snacks and drinks can be the perfect addition to your clients' holiday parties so they can share the love with their entire team.
• Resigning A Contract: Celebrate another year of a great partnership with a variety of snacks and drinks to share.

Conclusion

Snack crates are a great way to bring the team together and offer delicious snack options at work. Offering a variety of options will help to satisfy the tastes of your team members and of any clients you share with. Beat those blood sugar slumps and help everyone perform at their best.

If you don't have the time to organize office snacks yourself, consider a snack box provider like Crafty, which does it so you don’t have to. We can help you to curate a snack program that best aligns with your team and company needs.