Innovation

In order to ensure these sustainable goals, Kyle Huff stated that “ a team of people including the founder decided to start working with local farmers and other sustainable companies to not only create healthy dishes with local grown food but to also have environmentally friendly products such as plastic wear that is biodegradable.” Relating back to their mission which is to create awesome things through simple food yet at the highest quality, this is ensured through their utilization of high tech monitoring systems for temperature that store and maintain the food. Later on, they introduced the kiosk ordering system. This important facet gives them an edge over their competition by having a user friendly touch screen while providing pictures of the food as well as background pictures that appeal to the eye. This allows stricter control for portions and they make sure that customers order the right amount because the company’s main focus is to have no food waste.

An essential piece to the story of honeygrow and how it is different that most people do not know about is their use of single stream recycling. It is a system in which all recyclables are mixed together in a single bin by consumers and then in the recycling facility, the depositors separate them into their commodities. It is easier, more efficient and contributes to the goal of creating a Zero Waste Community. In addition, in order to ensure nourishing and healthy food, all of the products that honeygrow picks and uses are antibiotic and hormone free.

Inspiration

honeygrow was founded in 2012 by Justin Rosenberg. He was frustrated by the lack of vegan friendly restaurants and he really wanted to bring the concept of stir fry to the city because his passion was to create nourishing food for people. This idea was brought to and turned down by 93 investors until the 94th investor gave him a chance. Kyle Huff stated that “his motivation for this innovation was to “push the boundaries of technological landscape and create an amazing experience for people through food.” So why bother serving local and nourishing food? For him it was doing what made him happy. It made him excited mostly because of the taste and freshness. He wanted to make sure customers knew every ingredient that was being put in their bodies.

Rosenberg mainly wanted to show a lot of support for the arts and creativity. What inspired him the most was to leave the cubicle world and pursue a life that spoke to his true passion. This gave him the idea to showcase local artwork in each of his restaurants, bringing in real culture in the area. This as well as choosing employees to spread positive enthusiasm to guests gave him real purpose for this innovation.

Overall impact

honeygrow had a huge impact on the business, society and environment in the sense that they succeeded in delivering food that is honest and grown locally, hence the meaning of the company’s name. Individuals are now able to maintain a healthy active lifestyle more easily. The company wanted everything to be very transparent and as fresh and clean as possible. Through the looks of the restaurant, people feel as if they are truly being healthy every time they step into honeygrow. With this in mind, individuals know exactly what they are putting into their body. Kyle Huff explained that it is not only about “making sure that the customers enjoy the food, but that they appreciate where the ingredients are coming from.”

honeygrow has had such a lasting impact on society that the company just opened their 25th restaurant. Everyday they are making the world a better place by being eco-friendly and changing up their products so that they are all biodegradable and recyclable. Recently they partnered up with United Blue and work very hard to help clean up the shoreline. They picked up everything from styrofoam to plastic (United By Blue). This gave honeygrow such a substantial recognition that they are very passionate about the community and environment. This has a great impact on customers because it ensures to them that the company not only cares about the products they are using but they give a big importance to the environment.

Business benefit

honeygrow's benefits over other companies business wise by offering healthy and organic food to customers. Customers ultimately look for transparency and they are able to find that in honeygrow because of how honest and open the company is about talking about where their ingredients are coming from. A major difference between honeygrow and their competitors relies in the kiosk screen which has been “built from the ground up” (honeygrow). By providing appealing pictures that meets the eye on the screen of the various ingredients they use, this attracts customers to buy more food. Ultimately honeygrow wants to get more people on the same page however they have a slight advantage over competitors based on just the little things they do.

Social and environmental benefit

All in all, honeygrow works hand in hand with their community and does its best to give back. The innovation of their biodegradable products and their idea of single stream recycling sets them apart from their competitors. The actions they take by working with other sustainable companies differentiates them from any other fast food chain. They are looking to better all forms of life. Whether they are providing people with clean foods or creating products that are less harmful to the environment, they are considered to be eco-friendly.

Interview

Kyle Huff, Digital Contact Curator