As Paychecks Sink Free Food Flies

Oct. 5, 2011 - PRLog -- Few can deny that we are mired in a stubborn recession. With company spending on hold, and pay raises on ice, the mood around the office is hardly ebullient.

But a growing number of businesses are reversing the blues by opening in-house bars.

"Snack bars that is," says Michael Eberstadt, CEO of Monster Savings, a Manhattan-based venture that delivers bulk snacks, drinks, fruit and the like to companies  across the island. "The trend seems to be most popular among New York's tech companies, where the importance of happy cultures and the morale that brings has always been perceived as highly important to corporate success."

Not that the free buffet bar of the healthy, fatty, sweet and sour is entirely new. Bloomberg Inc. was one of the few to be known for the all-you-can-eat culture for decades. But while the mayor's company was once part of a select few, now a full-scale trend is off and away, leaving company kitchens, conference rooms and brainstorming offices awash with Snickers, Fritos, bananas, Smart Waters and, well, something to put a recession-busting smile on virtually everyone's face.

"We started with Free Lunch Fridays and have now transitioned to adding on Eat All Day Every day," says Mark Stevens, CEO of the marketing firm of MSCO. "Everyone on the team has their favorite snacks, so we have a diverse mix of goodies and now clients have shown an interest so they share in the feast as well.

"If anyone feels guilty about over-indulging, they don’t need to sample everything on the spread. It’s a great way to bond, to take a break, to put business aside for a moment and to enjoy each other.  And Monster Savings delivers from Costco, so the prices are unbeatable.”