How A Food Tech Company Reinvented Itself After The Devastating Impact Of Covid-19

(Featured: Christine Marcus, SFMBA ’12)

By Geri Stengel | Forbes | December 1, 2021

No matter how good their business idea is, women face more significant challenges than men when starting and growing their businesses. Because their networks tend to be smaller, women have less access to outside capital. But, even in an unconducive environment, women identify market pain points and solutions that others don’t. They show grit, determination, and adaptability not just to survive but thrive.

Imagine what they could do if conditions were conducive!

The economic shock of Covid-19 caused a 95% drop in revenue for Alchemista, a food tech delivery service. “The many challenges that I overcame before the pandemic gave me the confidence that I could deal with whatever happened,” exclaimed Christine Marcus, the company’s founder and CEO. She pivoted quickly, changing her target market and the technology she used to provide her food delivery services in a novel way. Marcus’s reinvention of Alchemista landed her on the 2021 Forbes Next 1000 list.

Marcus conceptualized her food-tech business in 2011 when she was studying for her MBA at MIT Sloan. The global food tech market was projected to grow from $220.3 billion in 2019 to $342.5 billion by 2027, according to Emergen Research. “I started the company for a very selfish reason,” she declared. “I wanted better food than what was being catered to our classes. There wasn’t enough time to get good-tasting meals in between classes.”

Marcus launched the company in 2012, the year she graduated from MIT Sloan School of Management. The idea was to provide the infrastructure to local mom-and-pop restaurants so they could serve meals to large-scale customers, such as corporations and colleges. Tech companies often provide meals as perks to their employees.

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By MIT Sloan CDO
MIT Sloan CDO