{"id":5961,"date":"2017-05-02T11:51:33","date_gmt":"2017-05-02T15:51:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&#038;p=5961"},"modified":"2025-09-30T11:20:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T15:20:11","slug":"desk-nibbles","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/desk-nibbles\/","title":{"rendered":"Desk Nibbles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section class=\"w-screen px-6 cu-section cu-section--white ml-offset-center md:px-8 lg:px-14\">\n    <div class=\"space-y-6 cu-max-w-child-max  md:space-y-10 cu-prose-first-last\">\n\n        \n        \n        \n            \n    <div class=\"cu-wideimage relative flex items-center justify-center mx-auto px-8 overflow-hidden md:px-16 rounded-xl not-prose  my-6 md:my-12 first:mt-0 bg-cu-black-50 pt-10 pb-12\" style=\"\">\n\n        \n        <div class=\"relative z-[2] max-w-4xl w-full flex flex-col items-center gap-2 cu-wideimage-image cu-zero-first-last\">\n            <header class=\"mx-auto mb-6 text-center text-cu-black-800 cu-pageheader cu-component-updated cu-pageheader--center md:mb-12\">\n\n                                    <h1 class=\"cu-prose-first-last font-semibold mb-2 text-3xl md:text-4xl lg:text-5xl lg:leading-[3.5rem] cu-pageheader--center text-center mx-auto after:left-px\">\n                        Desk Nibbles\n                    <\/h1>\n                \n                            <\/header>\n        <\/div>\n\n                    <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"absolute bottom-0 w-full z-[1]\" fill=\"none\" viewbox=\"0 0 1280 312\">\n                <path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M26.412 315.608c-.602-.268-6.655-2.412-13.524-4.769a1943.84 1943.84 0 0 1-14.682-5.144l-2.276-.858v-5.358c0-4.876.086-5.358.773-5.09 1.674.643 21.38 5.84 34.646 9.109 14.682 3.59 28.935 6.858 45.936 10.449l9.874 2.089H57.322c-16.4 0-30.31-.16-30.91-.428ZM460.019 315.233c42.974-10.074 75.602-19.88 132.443-39.867 76.16-26.791 152.063-57.709 222.385-90.663 16.7-7.823 21.336-10.074 44.262-21.273 85.004-41.688 134.719-64.193 195.291-88.413 66.55-26.577 145.2-53.584 194.27-66.765C1258.5 5.626 1281.34 0 1282.24 0c.17 0 .34 27.596.34 61.3v61.299l-2.23.375c-84.7 13.718-165.93 35.955-310.736 84.931-46.494 15.753-65.427 22.076-96.166 32.15-9.102 3-24.814 8.198-34.989 11.574-107.543 35.954-153.008 50.422-196.626 62.639l-6.74 1.876-89.126-.054c-78.135-.054-88.782-.161-85.948-.857ZM729.628 312.875c33.229-10.985 69.248-23.523 127.506-44.207 118.705-42.223 164.596-57.709 217.446-73.302 2.62-.75 8.29-2.465 12.67-3.751 56.19-16.772 126.94-33.597 184.17-43.671 5.07-.91 9.66-1.768 10.22-1.875l.94-.161v170.236l-281.28-.054H719.968l9.66-3.215ZM246.864 313.411c-65.041-2.251-143.047-12.11-208.432-26.256-18.375-3.965-41.73-9.538-42.202-10.074-.171-.214-.257-21.38-.214-47.046l.129-46.618 6.654 3.697c57.313 32.043 118.491 56.531 197.699 79.143 40.313 11.521 83.459 18.058 138.669 21.059 15.584.857 65.685.857 81.14 0 33.744-1.876 61.306-4.93 88.396-9.806 6.396-1.126 11.634-1.983 11.722-1.929.255.375-20.48 7.769-30.999 11.038-28.592 8.948-59.288 15.646-91.873 20.147-26.36 3.59-50.015 5.627-78.35 6.698-15.584.59-55.209.59-72.339-.053Z\"><\/path>\n                <path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M-3.066 295.067 32.06 304.1v9.033H-3.066v-18.066Z\"><\/path>\n            <\/svg>\n            <\/div>\n\n    \n\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<p>It&#8217;s 2 p.m. on a Tuesday and if you&#8217;re a typical office worker, you&#8217;re craving a snack. It&#8217;s hard to plan ahead for the munchies in the middle of office duties, though, and your building only has vending machines with unhealthy options. What can you do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A company started by two Carleton University students, Emil Aite and Eric Kys, working with Carleton\u2019s Lead To Win accelerator, has the solution. Called Desk Nibbles, it promises regular deliveries of healthy snacks to your workplace, no matter what the weather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/bmplayer-a.akamaihd.net\/shareable\/embedssl.html?dc=ctvnews_web&amp;cid=1079121&amp;col=379&amp;w=640&amp;h=360&amp;pl=0&amp;plh=0&amp;adSite=ctv.ctvnewsottawa&amp;adZone=latestnews&amp;omniAcct=ctvgmnews,ctvgmnewsglobalsuite&amp;section=Ottawa&amp;site=ottawa&amp;shareUrl=http:\/\/ottawa.ctvnews.ca\/video?clipId=1079121&amp;v7=video&amp;v8=home&amp;v9=&amp;v10=\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The typical audience is Ottawa-based office managers of small, medium or corporate-sized companies, Kys said in an interview. Desk Nibbles now has 12 clients, including Kanata-based cross-platform video app provider You.i TV (which has 150 employees). Another 10 to 20 companies are &#8220;in the pipeline.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"not-prose cu-quote cu-component-spacing\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re focusing on Ottawa, but over the summer we are going to be looking at what works,&#8221; Kys said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re trying not to grow ourselves too quickly. In the next couple of months, we&#8217;ll expand into another city like Ottawa. We&#8217;ve had requests from multiple companies with offices in Ottawa that have their headquarters in Toronto. It&#8217;s just a matter of us being able to meet those demands.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The company employs five people, with fourth-year students Aite and Kys both working full-time hours as they finished their undergraduate degrees in <a href=\"https:\/\/admissions.carleton.ca\/programs\/computer-science\/\" target=\"_blank\">computer science<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/sprott.carleton.ca\/programs\/bachelor-of-commerce\/\" target=\"_blank\">commerce<\/a>, respectively. The other employees are working to cover operations, back-end development of the website and digital marketing.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignfull wp-image-6005 size-full w-screen ml-offset-center cu-max-w-child-max px-4 md:px-6 lg:px-12\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"680\" src=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/desk_nibbles_1200w_3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6005\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/desk_nibbles_1200w_3.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/desk_nibbles_1200w_3-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/desk_nibbles_1200w_3-400x227.jpg 400w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/desk_nibbles_1200w_3-768x435.jpg 768w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/desk_nibbles_1200w_3-700x397.jpg 700w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/desk_nibbles_1200w_3-200x113.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<h2 id=\"desk-nibbles-operatesin-any-weather\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Desk Nibbles Operates<br>\nin Any Weather<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Deliveries are made by a bike service (the couriers are unfazed by snowstorms, Kys says) and include samples from companies such as Awake Chocolate, Martin\u2019s Apples, and Tease Tea. Typical offerings on the Desk Nibbles website include dried fruit snacks, pistachios, granola bars, apple chips, Keurig coffee packs and yes, some less healthy items such as chocolate or chips as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Desk Nibbles was founded in late 2016 when Aite realized there was a market opportunity for delivered snacks. The company offers three plans on their website: a &#8220;Nibbler&#8221; containing 50 to 90 snacks for five to 25 people, the &#8220;Muncher&#8221; that offers 110 to 200 snacks for 25 to 50 people, and unlimited custom orders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The students began the business fully bootstrapped, meaning that they funded everything out of their own pockets. Desk Nibbles subsequently received an undisclosed amount of money from the Lead To Win accelerator, which supports entrepreneurs intending to make $1 million in revenue during the first three years of operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just recently, the company joined Startup Garage, a three-month program led by the University of Ottawa that offers student entrepreneurs up to $18,000 to launch or expand a business.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"not-prose cu-quote cu-component-spacing\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;The funding allowed us to ensure that all of our essential services \u2013 our website, stuff like that \u2013 would be guaranteed,&#8221; Kys said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s also allowed us to grow our inventory and, additionally, look at helping us pay for some of the employees we have on board.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignfull wp-image-6006 size-full w-screen ml-offset-center cu-max-w-child-max px-4 md:px-6 lg:px-12\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"680\" src=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/desk_nibbles_1200w_2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6006\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/desk_nibbles_1200w_2.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/desk_nibbles_1200w_2-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/desk_nibbles_1200w_2-400x227.jpg 400w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/desk_nibbles_1200w_2-768x435.jpg 768w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/desk_nibbles_1200w_2-700x397.jpg 700w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/desk_nibbles_1200w_2-200x113.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<h2 id=\"lead-to-win-a-boon-for-the-business\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lead to Win: A Boon for the Business<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Lead To Win not only provided funding, said Kys, but also office space which also ended up being a boon for the business. &#8220;We can come in anytime of day, relax and not worry about being disturbed or somebody listening in on phone calls.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone size-full wp-image-4469\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"680\" src=\"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/empowering_people_1200x680_2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4469\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/empowering_people_1200x680_2.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/empowering_people_1200x680_2-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/empowering_people_1200x680_2-400x227.jpg 400w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/empowering_people_1200x680_2-768x435.jpg 768w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/empowering_people_1200x680_2-700x397.jpg 700w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/empowering_people_1200x680_2-200x113.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">TIM director and executive director of Lead To Win, Tony Bailetti<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Lead To Win has been offering support to startups since 2002, and in 2015 was named one of the top 10 academic business incubators in North America by UBI Global.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"not-prose cu-quote cu-component-spacing\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;Lead To Win has helped dozens of technology businesses in our region since 2002,&#8221; said founder Tony Bailetti, director of the Technology Innovation Management (TIM) program.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>&#8220;To grow, a new venture must earn the right to exist and find a business model that is stronger than the business models of its competitors. Lead To Win helps individuals with great ideas understand how to make money from growing their own technology businesses.&#8221;<br><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignfull wp-image-6007 size-full w-screen ml-offset-center cu-max-w-child-max px-4 md:px-6 lg:px-12\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"680\" src=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/desk_nibbles_1200w_4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6007\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/desk_nibbles_1200w_4.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/desk_nibbles_1200w_4-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/desk_nibbles_1200w_4-400x227.jpg 400w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/desk_nibbles_1200w_4-768x435.jpg 768w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/desk_nibbles_1200w_4-700x397.jpg 700w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/162\/desk_nibbles_1200w_4-200x113.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s 2 p.m. on a Tuesday and if you&#8217;re a typical office worker, you&#8217;re craving a snack. It&#8217;s hard to plan ahead for the munchies in the middle of office duties, though, and your building only has vending machines with unhealthy options. What can you do? A company started by two Carleton University students, Emil [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":410,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[25,19,1917],"cu_story_tag":[],"class_list":["post-5961","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","hentry","cu_story_type-student-experience","cu_story_type-technology-innovation","cu_story_type-the-new-economy"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/5961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/410"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/5961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98091,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/5961\/revisions\/98091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=5961"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=5961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}