Onfleet recently crossed over our 100Mth delivery mark. To celebrate this event, we gave the delivery driver of this milestone an Onfleet purple iPhone 12! We were thrilled to learn this was a local business, Bento, a leader in cannabis delivery and that we could meet our customer and the lucky winner in person.
Meet Iyani, nicknamed “Peaches”
Iyani is a Bay Area-born and bred native, hailing from Oakland. After a career focusing on management and office-work, she shifted to delivery. It allowed her more freedom, to connect with customers personally and to join forces with Bento where she has driven for almost three years.
“Because of Bento, I’ve never looked back,” Peaches noted. “Honestly, we’re like a family in the best of that sense.”
Bento: Cannabis delivery with intention and a heart
Bento was founded in May 2016 by CEO David Benett. Benett’s background as an entrepreneur, an attorney, and time spent managing businesses and live events across Asia in led him to choose the “Bento” name, in part for the branding and curation that Bento has come to be regarded as a leader.
"From the outside in, practicing corporate law for Japanese technology companies and managing major music events in the Asian market may seem quite different but I have always been energized by the idea of being a pioneer of new markets. I looked to the US toward the end of 2015 and saw the opportunity in cannabis and realized the timing was ripe.” Benett returned and launched Bento initially as a “one-man-band.” He was soon joined by Wes Oribello, a fleet management, supply chain, and customer service expert from DoorDash and the team grew.
“We saw people wanted convenience, customer service, and discretion with cannabis deliveries,” Benett noted.
“We definitely execute on these core principles daily. Also, and what in part I see what keeps customers with Bento, is our trusted curation, the cute Bento boxes, and of course, our fantastic drivers like Peaches. It’s that unique, personal touch in the many thoughtful ways we deliver our product.”
“Onfleet made a huge difference for us. We went from me personally doing deliveries daily, to now a team of over one hundred, executing tens of thousands of deliveries a month. We couldn't have done this without Onfleet. When we made the decision, I trusted my partner Wes who narrowed it down to Onfleet for our route optimization and delivery software. And we haven’t looked back.”
What’s next for Peaches and Bento?
For Bento, Benett reflected. “We want our brand to be like your favorite local restaurant, the one you go to again and again for the quality, the food, and how it makes you feel. We’re on the right track and look forward to replicating this model as the cannabis industry and consumer interest is only destined to grow.”
As for Peaches? “Well, for starters, I’m going to power up my new purple iphone! And keep doing what I love best, working for this warm, efficient business and delivering happiness and care to my customers.”
Onwards
Onfleet knows behind each and every delivery, there is a story. There is a business striving to create and connect with a great product, the delivery driver who makes it happen, and the customer who has a positive experience, including that human touchpoint of delivery. We look forward to celebrating future milestones, but for our 100Mth, it filled us with pride that we were able to personally connect with one of our wonderful, hardworking customers and their teams.