Olga Kuzenkov, co-founder, and Scott Harris, president and CEO of DeliverLean, a South Florida meal delivery service, show off the company's new kitchen space in Oakland Park. The 30,000 square foot commercial kitchen will fulfill the need for expansions allowing for more deliveries, new jobs and promoting healthier lifestyles in South Florida. WALTER MICHOT/MIAMI HERALD
By Chabeli Herrera
DeliverLean, one of South Florida’s most successful food delivery businesses, celebrated the opening of its Oakland Park facility Wednesday afternoon with a five-course meal presented by the chefs who have fed stars from Beyonce to Barack Obama.
Executive Chefs Andrew Whiteman and James Donato rushed around the counter at the test kitchen, faces at eye-level with the plates, meticulously preparing the meals that are also delivered in plastic containers and thermally insulated cooler bags to doorsteps from Jupiter to Kendall. About 30 invited guests feasted and toured the 30,000-square-foot facility, at 4351 NE 12th Terrace, which now house’s the company’s office, commercial kitchen, combination ovens and separate dehydration rooms.
The brainchild of mortgage industry executive, Scott Harris, DeliverLean opened in September 2011 as a convenient and healthy alternative for people looking to balance their diet. The meals are prepared fresh daily and delivered to customers between 3 and 6 a.m., just in time for breakfast.
“All you have to do is wake up and eat healthy,” said Chief Marketing Officer Candy Tree.
The latest expansion, at a cost of $250,000, is intended to increase deliveries to a total of 5,000 customers from the current 1,500. With more space and improved productivity, Harris said, he expects to extend the company’s deliveries north to Tampa.
Since 2012, DeliverLean has gone from earning $2.9 million in revenue to an expected $10 million by the end of 2014. More than 130 employees work the kitchens and the 20 delivery cars that line the parking lot of the new office. In 2013, the company won the People’s Pick award in the annual Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge.
The company's success caused it to quickly outgrow its 8,000 square-foot Boca Raton facility, which was struggling to satisfy an influx of customers catching the health craze wave.
“It was coming like a tornado,” Tree said.
The new facility gives the company a more central position for delivery expansion.
Since 2011, the company has grown to include organic juices, low-calorie desserts and shelf-stable snacks. Harris said the company expects to open a juice bar selling its juice brand, On Juice, in Aventura Mall in the next 6 weeks. The team plans to expand to New York by the end of 2014 and Los Angeles by 2016. Also in the plans: a kids’ line to be delivered to schools and a line for diabetics.
The growth will help him broaden the reach of his ongoing goal: to help people maintain a healthy lifestyle and discourage fast-food as a convenient but hazardous option.
“We didn’t want to be a weight-loss or diet company,” Harris said. “We find that vanity is a by-product but it’s really about being healthy.”
Meals are priced at $7.95 and customers can mix and match dietary plans, choosing from five meal plan options.
Each DeliverLean package includes a breakdown of calories, protein and carbohydrates.
At the event, working parents Jessica and Donovan Campbell were ready to sign up for the plan. Their 10-month son, Kingston, wobbled between tables munching on kale chips.
Wedding and event planner Jessica Campbell likes the convience she will get from DeliverLean. “A company like this could not only give me time back but prepare dishes that I’m not familiar with,” she said.
For WSVN-7 sportscaster Donovan Campbell who often works irregular hours, convenience is also key.
“You just never know when your next assignment is going to be and you never know when your next meal is going to be,” he said. “It’s good to have these meals already prepared and you just grab the bag and go.
“At $8 or less a meal, you can’t beat that.”