Two companies join forces to directly distribute their respective products. The idea is to offer fresh dishes and drinks in connected fridges to areas not served by hotels or the catering industry. As a preview we were able to discover this new fridge.
The cold-pressed juice producer Apothecary and the caterer Cocottes have decided to set up the first refrigerated distributor at the Hamm business park’s ground floor.
“The customer only needs an NFC badge using contactless payment technology to create an account on the manger.nu website,” explains Jerry Wagner, founder and CEO of Apothecary. “With the badge, the fridge automatically unlocks, detects products that are removed, and instantly debits the customer’s account.”
The idea is to develop the concept in business areas where very few catering establishments are located, and where Apothecary et Cocottes can count on their own brands or relay their products to stores.
Leased jointly by the two partners, the fridge is owned by French company NU!, which provides the appliance and its connectivity technology, including a highly ergonomic platform, monitoring the use of the fridge.
Within the next twelve months, the two Luxembourgish companies plan to roll out the concept in around ten business zones and co-working areas across the country.
Founded in 2018 in Luxembourg by the serial-entrepreneur Jerry Wagner, to compensate for the lack of choice in cold-processed juices, Apothecary employs five people mainly dedicated to the preparation, bottling and sale of juices.
The startup has a production store in City Concorde Bertrange. It has since developed its brand through deliveries to individuals and through partnerships such as the Fischer bakery (12 points of sales)
Founder in 2014, Cocottes catering chain’s restaurant manager, Stéphanie Jauquet, was named “Business Woman of the Year” in December 2019. The prize is awarded by Banque Internationale à Luxembourg (BIL).
