Students launch food delivery business StuVi Snacks

A new business run by Boston University students is on the rise. StuVi Snacks, a company that delivers food from local establishments to students living in StuVi 2, opens for business on Monday. Its management team is hoping to help students and make it an integral part of West Campus dining culture.

CEO Aaron Halford said the company will deliver food from Buick Street Market, Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, Blaze Pizza and Star Market to StuVi residents between the hours of 6:30 p.m. and 1 a.m.

Halford, a sophomore in the College of Communication, said he thought of the idea for the company one night in October when he was sitting in his room and craving Domino’s pizza.

“I didn’t want to face the embarrassment of going downstairs and letting people know that I eat Domino’s,” Halford said, “So I was like, ‘It would be excellent if someone could do this for me.’”

Halford said one thing that sets StuVi Snacks apart from other companies is its timeliness, aiming to deliver food within 30 to 40 minutes from the time the order is placed.

Another advantage of ordering with StuVi Snacks, Halford said, is the fact that it delivers directly to students’ rooms. StuVi Snacks will even pick up deliveries from other establishments in the lobby and bring them up to students.

“When you order a Domino’s or something, they can’t go to your door,” Halford said. “You have to come down to the lobby, which I think is somewhat of an obstacle for some people … For three dollars, we’ll go downstairs and bring it up to your [room].”

Gabby Falciano, a third-year graduate student in the Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, said she thinks StuVi Snacks would be a convenient option in many situations.

“It would probably be convenient if you had friends over and you didn’t really feel like leaving your dorm, or if you were too tired to go out and get yourself food,” Falciano said. “… Maybe even if you were sick.”

Chief Marketing Officer and Social Media Manager Matthew Michna, a freshman at Berklee College of Music, said StuVi Snacks’s main goal is to be as convenient as possible for students.

“Everyone’s trying to find the next way to get to the destination quicker and to buy things online quicker,” Michna said. “We’re trying to fill the niche.”

Carrie Pratt, a sophomore in the College of General Studies, said she thinks StuVi Snacks could be useful for students who are too busy to get food themselves.

“A lot of people … have really busy schedules, so they might not always have time to go and sit and eat at the dining hall,” Pratt said. “Or people in StuVi who have kitchens might not always have time to go to Star Market and get food that they need. I think having [StuVi Snacks] would help with time management.”

Yafet Berta, a sophomore in the College of Engineering, said he thinks StuVi Snacks could be especially convenient during exams.

“When you have a midterm and you’re studying, you don’t want to go out and spend the time [getting food],” Berta said.

Berta added that StuVi Snacks could be also be useful “when you want to have some change” and don’t want to go to the dining hall.

As CMO, Michna said he plans to use social media to help clients relate to the employees at StuVi Snacks.

“We want to seem like we’re not just like a serious company,” Michna said. “We want to be known as people who can be your friends, but we can also get our stuff done.”

Halford also said relatability would be one of StuVi Snacks’s strongest attributes.

“We are very personable and we’re some friendly faces that people might know around campus,” Halford said.

The company has two couriers already but is looking for other BU students to join as the company expands.

Chief Operating Officer Joel Rothenberg, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said he hopes to expand StuVi Snacks to all of BU’s campus, starting with other residences in West Campus and eventually moving to East Campus as well.

Halford said his goals for the company are to come under the umbrella of the Student Employment Office and to reach a point at which people consider StuVi Snacks to be a first or second option for dining so that when looking for a way to eat.

Few of the company’s creators have previous experience with entrepreneurship, but Halford said he is optimistic about where StuVi Snacks will go in the future.

“I have a lot of good ideas, but they never really come to fruition,” Halford said. “We’re very excited for this one to come to fruition.”