NerdWallet turned office snacks into a smarter investment.

NerdWallet is a top personal finance company that helps customers centralize financial information. Crunching the numbers can take its toll, and these self-proclaimed Nerds are on a mission to make that information more digestible and accessible. That craving for simplification drove NerdWallet into the arms of Crafty – the perfect partner to help them centralize their national office food and beverage program.

Crafty stepped up to the plate to help Dakota Blakely, Head of Real Estate and Workplace Services, craft an F&B program aligned with NerdWallet’s values and solve these problems:

1. Whittle down the number of vendors to one nationwide
2. Get visibility into individual office operations at a national level
3. Deliver a consistent and quality employee experience in every NerdWallet office

See how both companies set out to craft a scalable employee retention program.

Crafty Aligns With NerdWallet's Values

NerdWallet and Crafty are on a mission to shake up the status quo in industries resistant to innovation. “Everyone should be able to make financial decisions with confidence," says NerdWallet. That’s why they created the platform to consolidate overwhelming financial information into a singular place.

Similarly, workplace F&B programs have stagnated for years, and companies like NerdWallet have had to use multiple vendors to service their locations. This creates excessive paperwork, zero on-the-ground transparency, and difficulty solving problems when they arise. It was time for NerdWallet to apply its own methodology to this valuable employee service – making Crafty the perfect partner.

Crafty's purpose is to provide the people and the platform to consolidate corporate food and beverage programs. “Our mission is to provide clarity for all of life's financial decisions,” says NerdWallet. While they take the reins on that for personal finance, Crafty has them covered from office snacks, coffee, sparkling water, and beyond…all within budget. 🤯

NerdWallet Introduction To Crafty

"We actually received a cold email from you,” says Blakely. “One of the things that compelled me to open up your site was your logo. I thought it was great, and the more I read about what Crafty does, the more I was interested.”

During the pandemic, NerdWallet had to halt office food service like many other companies nationwide. As employees started returning to the office, they were looking to simplify and evolve. Crafty’s innovative approach is what captured NerdWallet’s eye. “We were looking to resume services soon, so it was a combination of good timing and cool design," says Blakely.

The Crafty team jumped at the chance to start an F&B revolution. Both companies were excited to stock NerdWallet’s office pantry with epic office snacks, drinks, and equipment. The Workplace Services team has full access to the Crafty community to provide consistent service alongside the technology to make data-driven decisions.

4 Reasons Why NerdWallet Partnered With Crafty

The short answer: NerdWallet confidently partnered with Crafty because they could deliver on a premier F&B program nationwide with transparency.

The long answer:

• One Partner: NerdWallet could plan and operate each office consistently without the hassle of dealing with multiple vendors. Crafty guarantees a seamless and quality execution across offices and removes the burden of dealing with the many details.
• One Platform: Crafty’s leading technology platform gives NerdWallet visibility into the day-to-day while rounding up the highlights – all in one easy dashboard. Crafty automates time-consuming tasks and rounds up critical data so NerdWallet can make better company-wide decisions.
• One Contact: NerdWallet has the might of Crafty behind it to solve problems quickly and painlessly. They simply call their Crafty contact, and our army of on-site concierges, equipment specialists, and food and beverage experts will save the day.  
• One Invoice: NerdWallet knows there is beauty in simplicity, and consolidating to one invoice is a significant win. Multiple offices with multiple vendors and many receipts is a time suck for all parties involved. Crafty provided one invoice nationwide that includes their product, operation, and equipment costs. Ask. Believe. Receive.

"I loved the transparency that Crafty's technology provided,” says Blakely. “My team and I can see exactly what's going on in each location within the dashboard in real-time. We'd been previously promised that kind of technology from other vendors, but it was never delivered. With Crafty, that tech was available from day one."

My team and I can see exactly what's going on in each location within the dashboard in real-time. We'd been previously promised that kind of technology from other vendors, but it was never delivered. With Crafty, that tech was available from day one.

How NerdWallet Gauges Crafty's Success

The NerdWallet Workplace Team’s responsibilities go beyond the office kitchen; they are vital to the employee experience. The goal was to make their day as productive as possible, and minimizing complaints was first on the chopping block.

“We’ve had zero complaints from our locations which is how I gauge success,” says Blakely. "If we are missing something or we need something on the fly, Crafty has been super creative and responsive in getting us what we need, so we're really happy.”

Crafty supports clients like NerdWallet at every level by having a dedicated Crafty team to manage birds-eye and on-the-ground efforts to ensure everything runs smoothly, including:

• Restocking and managing deliveries each week.
• Pushing consumption data into the Crafty platform to trigger automatic ordering.
• Tuning up equipment like coffee machines, water machines, and more.
• Solving problems without any disruptions to NerdWallet’s program.

NerdWallet's Obsession With Real-Time Tracking

"Crafty's tech is huge for me and my team,” says Blakely. “I get to watch our budget in real-time. I know we're on target. All I have to do is log onto the dashboard to see anything and everything that I would want."

Blakely uses the Crafty dashboard to monitor the program's overall operations. At a high level, the NerdWallet team enjoys:  

• Viewing a snapshot of all the products across every office.
• Analyzing each office’s products to ensure a good variety.
• Diving into the details of individual orders as needed.
• NEW: Gaining insights into their F&B budget and usage in real-time.

The Nerdwallet team at each location can take an even granular look inside the dashboard to get information about operations like tracking deliveries, proof of restocks, and much more. NerdWallet loves the transparency of having the entire team in the same dashboard to keep everyone informed across multiple offices.

NerdWallet's Top Office Pantry Products

No company wants to spend money on food and beverage products that their employees hate. The beauty of the Crafty platform is the ability to see what products perform best at an individual location and overall. You can leverage that knowledge from one location to another while identifying areas to save on your food and beverage program.

Here are the top items NerdWallet’s team loved in 2023:

• Top Office Coffee: Wandering Bear Cold Brew Keg
• Top Energy Drink: Red Bull Sugarfree
• Top Juice: Naked Juice Smoothie Pack
• Top Dry Snack: Frito-Lay Classic Mix Variety Pack
• Top Bar: belVita Breakfast Biscuits, Golden Oat

The commitment to the value of "relentless self-improvement" is where NerdWallet and Crafty find common ground. The people deliver an excellent employee experience, and the technology shows growth and improvement opportunities. Two companies that love to nerd out when it comes to centralizing data to make quality employee retention decisions.