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Business

31st Mar 2016

AIB Start-up Academy Finalists – We Chat To Drop Chef

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The massively successful AIB Start-up Academy in association with The Irish Times is about to get serious with all of the finalists in play, including a wild card chosen by our readers.

The winner and two runners-up of the eight-week business launch pad will share a prize package of €250,000, with the overall winner receiving a direct €20,000 cash investment, so there’s a lot at stake.

We spoke to one of the finalists, food delivery company Drop Chef, founded by Roman Grogan, Sam O’Byrne and Ryan Scott, whose novel business idea has people making delicious and balanced meals up and down the country, all while reducing food waste and helping feed those who are hungry elsewhere with their Cook One, Feed One Program.

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Image via colin-judge.com

We asked them how they felt to have been selected to take part.

“It is such an honour to be part of the AIB Start-up Academy. I was initially quite apprehensive about the program since we are all extremely busy developing new recipes & sourcing the fresh, healthy, quality ingredients for our customer’s dinners. The delivery of the first few weeks have been great and we are really looking forward to the rest of the program.”

They have been gaining a lot of expertise and guidance along their journey with the Academy:

“So far it has been fantastic to have met such an interesting bunch of people, both the facilitators & participants are great to be around. I’m most looking forward to being able to look back on the program and see the progress that DropChef.com has made. We have taken a lot of advice and guidance so far so I’m looking forward to the next few weeks.”

In terms of what makes their business stand out from the rest of the finalists, they believe that they have something special, because their business is mission driven.

 

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Image via colin-judge.com

“We are on a quest to make Ireland & the world a better place. We do this by focusing on our three-pronged social mission: To make healthy eating more easy & accessible, to eliminate food waste and finally To Cook-One Feed-One – (That means that for every meal that we deliver to a customer that we donate a meal to a child in need).”

“Customers log onto DropChef.com and choose their dinners that they would like to cook. We provide all the ingredients they need and offer free delivery. Meanwhile they can be comforted in knowing that they are doing their part in making the world a much better place while eating a delicious, healthy, wholesome dinner.”

If they win the grand prize, they hope to fly to Malawi to see the impact that their admirable Cook-One Feed-One program is having over there.

They hope that with the help of AIB Start-up Academy they can continue getting Ireland to eat great food, and after that the sky’s the limit.

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AIB are Backing Brave. To read more about the Start-up Academy in association with the Irish Times, visit here.