Cookie machines for workplaces
We put Ovenlark machines in offices, hospital staff rooms, university libraries, gyms and co-working spaces, and fill them before half nine with cookies baked that morning. You don’t buy anything and you don’t maintain anything.
How it works
It usually takes about three weeks from your first e-mail to the first cookie.
Start with the enquiry form: roughly how many people are on site and what sort of building it is. Priya or Sam will reply within two working days and arrange to come round. The visit takes twenty minutes or so. We’re looking for a spot people walk past, near a 13A socket, with a step-free route from wherever the van can park.
If it works, we deliver the machine, level it and plug it in, usually in under an hour. There’s no building work and nothing to pay. After that a driver restocks it every weekday before 9.30am and takes out anything more than 48 hours old. Hospitals, gyms and other 24-hour sites can have a seven-day service.
Each machine tells us what sells and when, so the mix changes as we learn what your building likes. Once a month you get a short e-mail with the numbers and any faults we’ve fixed.
Two sizes, both in Ovenlark green
Our machines are glass-fronted ambient cabinets, adapted so the cookies sit flat in their wrappers instead of dropping off a spiral and breaking. They take contactless cards and phones only, so there’s no cash to collect and nothing to jam.
Compact
- Good for60 – 200 people
- Holds96 cookies, 6 kinds
- Size (H × W × D)1.45 × 0.62 × 0.70 m
- PowerStandard 13A socket
Tall
- Good for200 people and up
- Holds168 cookies, 8 kinds
- Size (H × W × D)1.83 × 0.75 × 0.85 m
- PowerStandard 13A socket
There’s no fridge in them, the lights are LED and they sleep overnight, so each one uses about 0.6 kWh a day. They’re quieter than most office fridges.
What it costs you
Nothing to install and nothing to host. The machine is ours: we insure it, and if it goes wrong someone will be out the same or next working day. The electricity is yours, but at around £4 or £5 a month it’s less than most hosts get back in sales credit.
Every cookie is wrapped in compostable film with its full ingredients and allergens on the label, and there’s always at least one vegan cookie in the mix. You can ask for favourites, take anything out, or have the whole machine nut-free. The seasonal ones go in a day after they hit the shop.
There’s a short host agreement covering the spot, power and access. After a three-month trial either of us can end it with 30 days’ notice, and we’ll collect the machine for free.
How your people pay
Most hosts are on pay as you go. Some knock money off the price for their staff, and a few set the machine to free on Friday afternoons.
| Option | Staff pay | You pay |
|---|---|---|
| Pay as you go | £2.80 for an everyday cookie, £3.20 for a special | Nothing. We send 8% of sales back each quarter as credit for meetings or gifts, or to a charity you choose |
| Subsidised | The price minus your subsidy | Anything from 50p to £2 a cookie, invoiced monthly. Hospitals and large offices like this one |
| Free vend | Nothing, during the hours you set | £2.30 a cookie, invoiced monthly, with a spending cap so there are no surprises |
Where the machines are
There are 47 of them at the moment. Most are inside workplaces and not open to the public, but to give you an idea, they’re in:
- the client floor of a law firm in the city centre
- staff rooms and a night-shift rest area at two Sheffield hospitals
- three university libraries and a students’ union
- co-working spaces in Kelham Island, on Ecclesall Road and in Rotherham town centre, including The Ledger Rooms
- an engineering firm’s canteen in the Lower Don Valley
- a bouldering wall in Neepsend and a 24-hour gym in Barnsley
- architects’, accountants’ and software studios across the city, including Fernlow Architects
- the yard gate at our own bakehouse, open 24 hours
Night shift used to mean a chocolate bar from the machine at 3am. Now there is a proper cookie with the time it was baked on the wrapper. Small thing, big difference on a long night.
Setting it up took one e-mail and a twenty-minute visit. Six months in, it has sold more than our coffee machine.
Questions hosts ask us
What happens to cookies that don’t sell?
Drivers remove anything over 48 hours old on every visit. It goes to a community food share or to our own team. Telemetry from the machine means we rarely overstock by more than a few cookies.
Can we choose which cookies go in?
Yes. We’ll suggest a mix based on similar sites, and you can ask for favourites, remove anything, or require that all slots are nut-free. We always include at least one vegan cookie.
What about security and insurance?
The machine is ours and covered by our insurance, including public liability. It holds no cash. Our drivers carry ID and can work around your sign-in process and access times.
Can we put our own branding on it?
On the Tall model, we can add a panel with your logo or a message next to ours for a one-off fee. Ask when you enquire.