Reviews

Graze Box Review: Is the Service Worth it?

Nonjoiner

January 12, 2015

Reviews of Graze.com, a website which offers a variety of healthy snacks which are delivered to costumers for a fee per box.

About Graze.com

Graze is a subscription based web-service that delivers healthy snack boxes to customers via old-fashioned snail mail. The company was founded about six years ago in the United Kingdom and has recently launched a service in the United States. The marketing appeal seems to be in the convenience, healthiness (avoid the vending machine at work), and surprise randomness of the snacks. There are roughly 100 available snacks which are divided into eleven categories. Each box sent out to clients contains four random snacks. Users have some control over which snacks they receive through selectable dietary preferences and a rating system. These ratings and preferences are then customized into random snack selections for every box using an algorithm which the company calls DaRWIN.

The US version of Graze can be found at graze.com/us while the UK version of Graze can be found at graze.com/uk. Below is a screenshot from a popular Graze television commercial which has been running in heavy rotation in mid-2014:

Graze Promises and Policies

All information regarding Graze promises and policies were found on the Graze website, particularly in the ‘our food’, ‘FAQ’, and ‘how it works’ sections.

Graze makes a number of promises about it’s snacks which are listed below:

None of their snacks contain genetically engineered/modified (GMOs) ingredients
None of their snacks include artificial sweeteners, flavors, and/or coloring
None of their snacks contain high fructose corn syrup
None of their snacks contain trans fats or hydrogenated oils

They cater to vegetarians, vegans, individuals with Celiac disease, and individuals with lactose intolerance. User options let individuals with these conditions exclude snacks they do not want on a ‘dietary preferences’ page. For example, vegetarians/vegans can choose to exclude snacks which contain meat/animal products, individuals with Celiac disease can choose to exclude snacks with wheat, and individuals with lactose intolerance can exclude snacks that include dairy products.

It is recommended that people with allergies (especially nuts) avoid Graze. The following quote regarding allergies is from the ‘FAQ’ on the Graze website:

Graze is not suitable for people with allergies. Our snacks are packed in a facility that also processes peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, milk, soybeans (soya) and egg, as well as sesame and sulfites. In addition to this, cross-contamination between any of our ingredients is likely to occur… we can’t guarantee that our products are free from traces of nuts and sesame since they are packed in a facility that also processes peanuts, tree nuts, and sesame. If you suffer from a nut allergy you will not be able to graze.

In a ‘Payment and cancellation questions’ section of their ‘FAQ’ section, Graze conveniently offers clear instructions for cancelling orders and/or making changes to boxes.

Graze Cost and Delivery Options/Policies

All information regarding costs has been been found on the Graze website, mainly in the ‘FAQ’ and ‘how it works’ sections.

Ordering snack boxes from Graze requires customers to create an account. During account creation, the client is asked to choose between a “nibblebox” or a “calorie counter box” and whether these should be delivered to the patron’s home or place of work. Apparently, the nibblebox includes some 90 snack options. The calorie counter box includes over 50 snack options which are no more than 150 calories per serving.

After signing up, members of Graze receive regular snack deliveries, and can choose between the option of receiving a snack box every week or every two weeks.

There is also the option to order a big box which contains 5 snack bags (a total of 20 snack portions). These big boxes cost $25.00

Each box contains four random snacks (based on which box is chosen along with any dietary preferences) and costs $6.99. This includes delivery and shipping & handing, but it is not stated whether or not this price includes tax. Here are the monthly and yearly calculations figured for the weekly and bi-monthly delivery options for the random snack boxes:

Monthly

Weekly preference: $27.96
Bi-monthly preference: $13.98

Yearly

Weekly preference: ~$335.52
Bi-monthly preference: ~$167.76

According to the website, Graze accepts Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. Customers pay per box and payment is collected a week in advance.

All boxes are sent via UPS. Receivers do not have to sign for the boxes when they are delivered, and they are supposed to fit into most standard mailboxes/P.O. boxes. Box dimensions are listed as 9″x6″x1″. However, the big snack boxes may not fit into mailboxes (dimensions are 24cm x 17cm x 17cm), and the box will be left on your doorstep.

Graze will only ship to the lower 48 states, and does not ship to Hawaii, Alaska, and/or U.S. Territories. In addition, it is Graze policy that they do not ship to Army Post Offices (APOs) or Fleet Post Offices (FPOs).

Graze claims that customers should receive their first snack box approximately 10 days after joining the site. Due to the fact that each box is custom prepared for clients, Graze claims that snack boxes cannot be returned or refunded.

Graze offers a separate website with different policies for customers within the UK.

Graze TV Commercial

Below is the transcript of the Graze television commercial.

This is our Graze Box. It’s a great way to snack. Fresh, tasty, and packed with nature’s goodness. You can choose from over 90 nutritious snacks.

We’d like to invite you to try a hand-picked box fro free. Just go to graze.com and we’ll send a free box to you at home or work. It may even help you keep your hand out of the cookie jar. So go to graze.com now, and enter the code “INVITE3” to enjoy nature… delivered.

Graze Box Review

Here are the pros and cons of using Graze based on my research and the online users reviews that I have read:

Pros

Appetizing snacks – The majority of the user reviews claim that Graze snacks are very tasty. I rarely read a review in which the reviewer disliked the snacks.
Convenience/surprise – Many reviewers seemed to enjoy the convenience of the Graze snack boxes and the random surprises in relation to which snacks were sent to them.
Healthiness – Many reviewers appreciated the healthy nature of the snacks. The ingredients and calories for each snack can be viewed on the Graze website. Some reviewers questioned whether the snacks were as healthy as claimed, yet these reviews seemed to be in the minority.

Google Trends History

The Google Trends graph below shows interest in Graze.com over time. Interest appears to have gradually increased since December of 2008 with a peak surge in January of 2013. Although interest still ebbs and flows, it appears to remain fairly constant. Curiosity in relation to Graze.com seems to surge every January, possibly due to an increase in advertising campaigns.

Bottom Line

Graze is a subscription website which sends out a wide variety of healthy snacks to its members through the mail. Boxes are sent either once a week or every other week based on user options, and each box contains four randomly chosen snacks which are uniquely customized to the individual. Dietary preferences, a rating system, and a specialized algorithm affect which snacks are included within each box. Many online reviewers appreciated the convenience of receiving healthy, tasty snack boxes in the mail, while others have complained that it is difficult to cancel the service once it has started and the price is too high in relation to portion sizes.

Have you used Graze? Let me hear your thoughts about the service in the comments below.

Updated January 12, 2015
Originally published August 2014

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