The Key was conceived as a one-stop healthy lifestyle hub – combining a café serving nutritionally balanced meals and snacks, with a studio offering everything from yoga and Pilates classes to sports massage and physiotherapy treatments.
Smith said: “The restrictions we faced meant a new plan was required, and fast. It has always been our intention to eventually offer nutritious, macro-calculated meals to take away, as well as to be served in the café – so we decided to make that our first priority. With the help of a van, we were able to develop a delivery service – providing freshly cooked meals to customers, many of whom were working from their homes.
“The idea was a hit, and we were quickly working at full capacity to fulfil all the orders that came in. Even now that we’re open and operating as we’d originally planned, the meal delivery service remains popular, so it’s become a permanent feature of our business model.”
“The first van was a diesel-powered Mercedes-Benz Sprinter,” Smith continued. “It was excellent in many ways, and never missed a beat. But given that all our deliveries are within a fairly small radius of the city centre, and because we’re keen to minimise the effect of our operation on the environment wherever possible, we felt an electric vehicle would suit our needs better.
“After our positive experience with both the Sprinter and the customer service from our local retailer, we were sure we wanted another Mercedes-Benz. The Sprinter had also turned out to be bigger than we needed, and we felt a slightly smaller vehicle would make more sense for city driving – so the battery-powered eVito was the obvious choice.”
he added: “Our menus at The Key are designed to offer something for all tastes, from lean burgers to superfood salads, as well as our signature coffee from a local independent roaster.”