Cargo trike company B-Line takes over delivery for SoupCycle

Coming soon to your front door.(Photo/graphic: BikePortland)
Coming soon to your front door.
(Photo/graphic: BikePortland)

Bike-powered business, urban freight delivery and local food production have come together in a very exciting way in Portland.

Today two local companies that have built strong niches hauling cargo with pedal power — B-Line and SoupCycle — announced they’ve joined forces. From now on B-Line’s electric-assist cargo trikes will distribute meals for SoupCycle, a company with over 600 customers throughout Portland.

It’s an intriguing collaboration that shows the maturity of Portland’s bike business ecosystem and it comes just days after the University of Washington debuted a new “Urban Freight Lab” in partnership with major retailers and shipping companies with an aim to make downtown deliveries more efficient and friendlier for humans and the environment.

For SoupCycle and B-Line, the move allows both of them to do more of what they do best.

SoupCycle started in 2008 when (former) owner Jed Lazar began cooking up delicious soups and delivering them by bike to “soupscribers” with his humble cargo trailer. The business took off as Lazar expanded his delivery territory (known as “souplandistan”) and hired more riders. Lazar sold the business to employee Nate Schlachter in 2014 and the company became certified as a B Corporation in 2016. In the past eight years they’ve delivered about 180,000 servings of organic soup, bread and salad.

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B-Line, also a B Corporation, got rolling in 2009 and immediately saw themselves as much more than just a human-powered delivery company. The company employs 18 people — 15 of whom pedal the large trikes (that also serve as advertising vehicles via the billboards on all sides) to clients in the central city. It’s a much more humane way than motorized trucks and vans to solve the urban “last-mile” freight delivery challenge that Portland and many other cities face.

B-Line CEO Franklin Jones told us seven years ago that he wanted to, “Create a different type of city… a new model of distributing goods in urban areas.” Slowly but surely he has done just that.

It all came together when Jones moved B-Line into the The Redd, a collaborative space at Southeast 7th and Salmon streets in the Central Eastside devoted to boosting the local food economy by connecting farmers, chefs, and entrepreneurs. B-Line is the anchor tenant at The Redd and SoupCycle moved in this past summer. “By giving B-Line oversight of our distribution and logistics,” Schlachter said in a press release about the partnership, “we can focus on our core competency as a fresh food producer, and continue to grow by pursuing new business opportunities.”

Learn more about how pedal-power is playing a role in Portland’s local food ecosystem via The Redd’s website.

— Jonathan Maus, (503) 706-8804 – jonathan@bikeportland.org

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Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor)

Founder of BikePortland (in 2005). Father of three. North Portlander. Basketball lover. Car owner and driver. If you have questions or feedback about this site or my work, feel free to contact me at @jonathan_maus on Twitter, via email at maus.jonathan@gmail.com, or phone/text at 503-706-8804. Also, if you read and appreciate this site, please become a supporter.

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Todd Boulanger
Todd Boulanger
7 years ago

Nice!…and its making me hungry at lunch time. Too bad Im outside of Souplandia and living in NoSoupforYoulandistan.

jayson
jayson
7 years ago

I don’t know why, but every time I see the SoupCycle logo, I think the spoon handle should be rotated to the right to indicate a higher velocity or a “fuller tank”. I know these are both auto-centric concepts, but still.

9watts
9watts
7 years ago

I wonder what will become of the fleet of custom Blue Sky trailers that SoupCycle ordered not so long ago?

Trailer Guy

Pedal PT
7 years ago

So refreshing to see two awesome companies with shared values joining forces- Congrats Nate and Franklin!

Adam
Adam
7 years ago

Slightly mixed feelings. A friend of mine, very active in the bike community, who was the most badass and friendly Soup Cycle delivery girl ever FOR REAL, got fired from.the company with no explanation a few years’ back. She was heartbroken, and the company’s callousness made me reevaluate my thoughts about them big time.

Now I assume all the current Soup Cycle delivery people are going to lose their jobs too? Or did I miss something?

Mike
Mike
7 years ago

Oh, boy! A bowl of overpriced, lukewarm soup handed to me after traveling X number of miles on a bike. Can’t wait to sign up!

9watts
9watts
7 years ago
Reply to  Mike

wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning? Geez.

Eric H
Eric H
7 years ago
Reply to  Mike

You don’t really have a clue how it works do you?