Fun fact: In France, companies of a certain size have to provide some form of support when it comes to employee lunches.
Big companies usually build out cafeterias, while smaller companies hand out meal vouchers. But in recent years the longstanding paper meal voucher has migrated toward payment card alternatives from companies like Edenred and Sodexo.
Now, the French startup Lunchr is looking to get in the corporate lunch line with a $34m funding round to scale its app-based lunch cards.
Changin’ the lunch game, one card at a time
Here’s the problem: Due to outdated card terminals, many restaurants and supermarkets in France still don’t accept meal voucher cards.
But Lunchr aims to change that: The company’s new card will work in more places thanks to integration with an app and account, letting employees put in group orders from the office.
Per TechCrunch, the company currently supports 200k businesses in France, with the goal of the funding round to attract another 200k by the end of 2019.
Do as the French do
Per the Fair Labor Standards Act, in the US, most states don’t require employers to provide meal or rest breaks at all.
In fact, many employers force their workforce to clock out during meal breaks, which often results in people eating from their desk so they can stay on the clock and seem dedicated to their job.
But studies show that kind of “go-getter” mentality actually lowers productivity and increases the chances of employee burnout.
Fin.