Keeping an office stocked with snacks sounds simple enough, until you're the one doing it. Do you set up a regular subscription that turns up on its own, or order as and when you need it? Both have their place, and the right answer depends on how your workplace actually runs.
Here's a straight comparison of the two, so you can work out which suits your office, or whether a bit of both is the smarter move.
What each approach actually means
A subscription is a repeat order that arrives automatically on a schedule you set, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, or anywhere in between. You choose what's in it once, and it keeps coming until you change or pause it.
Ad-hoc ordering, sometimes called one-off ordering, is exactly what it sounds like: you place an order whenever you need one, with no ongoing commitment. Nothing arrives unless you ask for it.
Most offices lean on one or the other, but the two aren't mutually exclusive, and the best-run workplaces often use both. More on that further down.
Where a subscription wins
It runs itself
The biggest draw of a subscription is that it takes the job off your plate. Once it's set up, snacks simply arrive, no reminders, no reordering, no last-minute dashes when the cupboard's bare on a Monday morning. For whoever's responsible for keeping the office stocked, usually an office manager or EA with plenty else on, that's one recurring task gone for good.
You never run out
There's nothing like an empty snack drawer to prompt a round of grumbles. A subscription keeps the supply topped up on a steady rhythm, so the snacks people rely on are there when they want them, rather than running dry halfway through the month.
It costs less
Regular orders usually come with a saving that one-off orders don't. With Snackfully, subscribers save on every delivery, so committing to a repeat order works out cheaper over the year than buying the same thing ad-hoc each time. For a cost that repeats every month, those savings add up.
It's still flexible
The word "subscription" can make people nervous about being locked in, but a good one bends around you. Snackfully subscriptions can be amended, skipped, paused or cancelled whenever you need, with delivery frequency set anywhere from every 7 to 90 days. You can also drop one-off extras into a subscription order when something comes up, so committing to a baseline doesn't mean giving up control.
Where ad-hoc ordering wins
No commitment
If your snacking needs are irregular, or you just want to try a supplier before settling into a routine, ad-hoc ordering keeps things open. You order when you want to, skip when you don't, and there's nothing to manage in between.
Perfect for one-offs
Some snack needs are events, not routines. A board meeting, a client day, a team celebration, a busy project push, these call for a one-off order rather than a standing delivery. Ordering ad-hoc lets you match the moment exactly, scaling up for the occasion and back down again afterwards, and our meeting room snacks are made for exactly those moments.
It flexes with a changing office
Hybrid working has made headcount a moving target. An office of a hundred people might have forty or fifty in on a typical day, with busier days midweek. Ordering ad-hoc lets you buy for how the office is actually being used rather than committing to a fixed amount every cycle, which can help cut down on waste during quieter spells.
