And I think that’s the value of graze over going and buying the damn stuff yourself. Firstly, having done a bit of maths, it’s about the same price (if you always have £1 off – which, thanks to giving free box codes away over twitter, I’ve got for a few weeks). Secondly, the surprise element is not to be underestimated. I don’t click through on the notification email to see what’s in my box. I want to find out when I open it! Thirdly, the supplying-food-you-wouldn’t-normally-eat thing is having a surprisingly good effect on me.

It reminds me a lot of the engagement I had with food when I had a weekly organic fruit and veggies box delivered. The surprise, the delight, the experimentation. Graze is far more convenient than some muddy potatoes and slightly bruised apples, but the common theme’s there.

Now all I need is a low-GI salad box delivered to work for about 50p (they’re damn cheap to put together) and I won’t ever have to go into my kitchen again..

Don’t we love the Entrepreneur’s Diet?

When a code for a free Graze trial box popped up on Twitter, I couldn’t say no. Yesterday my box of goodies arrived, and here are my quick thoughts.

Firstly, I love the brand and the presentation and everything they’re trying to create. It appeals right to the heart of my innocent-buying, Cranks-noshing, naked-munching, Covent Garden Soup-sipping eco-friendly vegetarian healthy soul. Except the frugalism.

However, the actual contents did disappoint. The orange and grapefruit tasted almost canned, with little freshness (maybe I should have eaten them in the morning?). The nuts were… nuts, but the mix was quite samey and the mango not as chewy as I like it. The seeds were good, but not mixed and I didn’t realise this until the bottom when I had nowt left to eat but sesame seeds.

In short it wasn’t the eye-opening fresh taste experience I’d hoped for. Definitely worth a try if you’re cooped up in a cubicle with nothing decent in walking distance, but to be honest the walk to my nearest wholefoods store (there’s one 5 minutes from home and another 5 minutes from the office) or a trip downstairs to get some freshly made soup are both cheaper and more satisfying.

From a business point of view, I’ll be interested to see if they tap into the lazy-office-worker niche, especially with the current ‘make do and mend’ mindset. I remember an interesting business idea a friend had years ago that also targeted the same market, and maybe its time has come if Graze takes off.