Everyday life made easier at schools in Uusikaupunki

The Pohitulli school was the first site in Uusikaupunki, Finland to introduce FOODDUCK® spread dispensers in 2019. Based on good experiences at this school, the use of environmentally friendly dispensers was extended to other Uusikaupunki schools in early 2020. Currently, eight schools in Uusikaupunki have spread dispensers, which are serving new, domestic FOODDUCK® Margarine.

“We are very pleased that our cooperation with the city of Uusikaupunki expanded significantly. The importance of environmental friendliness is increasing day by day, and our spread dispenser is a step in the right direction: spread and packaging waste are reduced, and materials are also used economically. ”

– Timo Sorsavirta
CEO, Foodduck Oy

Both children’s and adults’ experiences with the equipment at the Pohitulli school were good. At its restaurant with about 400 diners per day, spread dispensers increase ease and hygiene at meals and keep the service clean and attractive. A common goal in the testing phase was saving spread, and this was achieved: FOODDUCK® dispensers saved the school 500kg of spread per year. Based on the good experiences at Pohitulli, the city of Uusikaupunki decided to extend the use of this innovative solution that also fits well with the city’s sustainable development goals to other schools, too.

”Our experiences with automatic dispensers were so positive that we decided to acquire them for other schools in Uusikaupunki.” 

– Helvi Hyrynsalmi
Food and Cleaning Services Manager

Lots of diners at the Viikainen school

The Viikainen school started to use FOODDUCK® mobile spread dispensers. The school is the largest in Uusikaupunki with almost 500 diners per day. The use of spread dispensers makes meals much smoother.

For most pupils, the arrival of the devices came as a surprise – as a positive one. “What! Have we got this duck equipment too! ”,“ Neat! ”,“ Wow, this is convenient!” they commented. The devices generated a lot of enthusiasm, and the most eager ones went to take another serving of bread to be able to test the device again. Some were already familiar with the equipment, for example from Pohitulli or other schools. Some had also heard of the device through friends. In addition to the youngsters, teachers and kitchen staff were also excited about the new smart dispensers.

”Foodduck is easy to use and hygienic. Our pupils are really satisfied with it!”

– Elina Vuoriaho
Kitchen Services

”Foodduck is hygienic and tidy to use, and it significantly reduces waste.”

– Leena Heikkilä
Team Lead, Food Services

”Foodduck is easy and tidy to use – kids like it, too!”

– Merja Lehti
Food Services Supervisor

FOODDUCK offers a solution to spread waste

In the Viikainen school, the spread used to be distributed in single portion packages. Pupils often took more than they could eat, and in addition, excess spread was left in the opened packages. Contrary to this, FOODDUCK® devices dispense a predefined amount of spread on a slice of bread, which means that no spread gets wasted.  Adjusting the dose size can even be done remotely in these smart devices. About four grams of spread on a crispbread is the most commonly used portion size among our customers, and it is possible, of course, to take several portions if one is not enough.

The FOODDUCK® spread dispenser’s bag-shaped spread packaging serves about 200 diners and is easy to change. When there is a suitable number of devices, there will be no more than 1-2 changes during meals. If the packaging does not get totally empty and you do not have a refrigerated device model, you can store the packaging overnight in the refrigerator and reinstall it the next day.  The spread can also be used safely for cooking, as only the machine-washable nozzle part of the device has been in contact with the spread. In this way, the otherwise wasted product becomes a valuable ingredient, which would not be possible if open spread cases were used.

The Lokalahti school caters to a smaller group

The Lokalahti school uses FOODDUCK® lille spread dispenser. Lille is the newest and smallest member in our product family. Due to its compact size, it is suitable for small schools and day care centres, for example. The Lokalahti school is a small village school with a fewer than 100 daily diners. Therefore, FOODDUCK® lille is perfect for this location.

On the day when our spread dispenser is introduced at a new location, a Foodduck representative is always present to guide the use of the device by staff and diners. Spread dispensers were welcomed at the Lokalahti school, too. Two sisters – from the first and third grades – came to talk to the Foodduck employee in the school yard and stated, “This duck device is so nice, thank you for it!”. These sisters were going to visit their grandma at the end of the school day – no doubt what the hottest topics of the day were. This kind of reactions make us feel that we are at the centre of the customer service experience as we are bringing memorable moments to dining and joy to the users.