Origin

Origin built a kiosk for offices that lets employees buy pre-packed pods from a freezer, and make them into fresh juice smoothies silently in 30 seconds. It works similar to a Keurig coffee machine, but Origin thinks it can use its smoothie maker as a Trojan horse to sell more food and other items inside the 188,000 offices in the US. Right now it earns a 56% margin on the $2.99 pods, recoups the kiosk cost in 7 weeks, and now has $30,000 in monthly recurring revenue as it grows 50% weekly. Fellow juice maker startup Juicero has run into slow demand for its expensive machine and juice subscriptions. But Origin’s in-office commerce model and cheaper pods could have a different fate if the juice tastes right.

San Francisco, CA, USA

• Food Tech