There’s a saying in Spanish that goes “la necesidad es la madre de la invención:” necessity is the mother of invention. It was January 2016 and History major and forthcoming senior Orlando Delgado—the UPRM volleyball team captain, fresh off the season—needed a job. He spent the previous spring as in intern in Washington DC, and noticed that there was a growing number of food delivery services that moved around in bicycles. When he visited New York City, he noticed the same trend. Even corporate giant Uber recently debuted a delivery service called UberEATS, available in select cities, which includes food delivery by bicycle or motorcycle. That’s how he got the idea for MunchiesXpress, a food delivery service in Mayagüez. “I went and told Mariela,” Orlando’s girlfriend and business partner, “’let’s make the company ourselves.’” And so they did.
MunchiesXpress is an eco-friendly delivery service for local establishments and restaurants in Mayagüez. It is run by real-life couple Orlando Delgado and Mariela Ponce (an alumna of UPR Cayey). The way Munchies works is simple: you call their number or submit your order through their website and state where you want your food from and what you want. Then they contact the restaurant and once your food is ready, they cycle and deliver it right to your door–and you pay everything in cash or through ATH Móvil.This is part of Munchies’ vision: to improve people’s lives.
The journey from idea to becoming full-fledged company lasted about a month and a half, after Orlando and Mariela processed all the necessary documents, purchased their bikes, developed their social media strategy, and negotiated with local businesses. Their target audience was, of course, Colegio students.
“I thought of the students en las peceras, the engineering students, studying and working hard. And it’s 10 at night and they’re starving; and they say ‘let’s call Munchies.’”
“Pueden coger el break sin tener que interrumpir,” Mariela adds.
With this in mind, Munchies delivers to the entire campus, including the areas of the CID, CITA, the Seismic Network, the INCI and INQU buildings, and the Biology building. Additionally they deliver to residential areas like Maranelo, Terrace, Paseos de Miramar, and the area of El Colonial. They also deliver to the whole pueblo up until La Plaza del Mercado and the calle Rios.
Their routes have allowed them to gain an unlikely following: local doctors, professionals, and teachers. This has been especially good for Munchies’ business particularly in the summer. “Maya is a college town for ten months, but in the summer, it’s a desert.” Since they opened for business late in the semester, this summer has been an excellent opportunity for them to grow their business and their reach with a different audience.
Munchies currently provides its services for 6 establishments, though there are in talks to include more in their repertoire. For the first two weeks after its launch, around the time of Las Justas, Munchies only provided services to Off The Wall, a hamburger joint and bar in la Calle Candelaria; then came Papalaya’s, Tazas Café, and Bonsai. The two latest additions to Munchies’ services have been La Sambuca Food Truck and Chalupas.
With its growing popularity, they’ve even received phone calls directly from other businesses who want to get involved. This is because Munchies provides an opportunity for mutual benefit between Munchies and the restaurant. While Munchies does charge for delivery varying by distance, the establishments also pay them royalties. Meanwhile, the reach Munchies provides for these establishments helps them grow their business. One establishment had 12 deliveries its first week with Munchies; the following week they had 34, then 44. “It’s been definitely embraced by the community,” Orlando proudly declares. Mariela adds, “we’re absolutely going to need more people on the ground as this continues to grow.” Evidently, Munchies is a nurtured work in progress: what did Orlando and Mariela know about business administration prior to Munchies? “Absolutely nothing,” they say with a laugh, and practically in unison.
Mariela was undecided in what she wanted to do after she graduated from Biology last year. With her experience administrating Munchies, she’s motivated to pursue an MBA and become an entrepreneur. Meanwhile, Orlando is still motivated to pursue graduate studies in the School of Planning. He maintains his experience with Munchies as an excellent precursor to his graduate studies. He saw a transportation and accessibility problem in his community, and he started a business to address it.In addition, he aspires for Munchies to promote bicycle use among UPRM students and to help them view it not just as physical activity but as a means of transportation.
“MunchiesXpress isn’t a delivery service,” Orlando declares. “It is a lifestyle.”
Editors’ note: All images provided by Bianca Torres Suriel, B12 Photography.