Web Exclusive

Junior Konrad Kopczynski has been buying snack food and other products for his GW residence hall room from Costco since he got to campus in 2007 – but just recently turned his bulk shopping habits into a business.

Last summer, when he realized there was no company on or near campus to provide students with snack food items in bulk, he decided to take action. Kopczynski entered a business plan competition that the GW School of Business held in March, and wound up receiving funding to get his idea off the ground.

“I ended up taking 4th place and getting $1,000 to go out and start the business,” Kopczynski said. From there he hasn’t looked back.

His business, the Saturday Delivery, now has 15 customers and is expanding its customer base on a weekly basis, Kopczynski said.

Kopczynski said his business is catching on with students, who in the economy are looking for snack food items at a competitive price. He added that other businesses that deliver snack food – like D.C. Snacks – do not deliver in bulk.

“We market that this is a lot cheaper than anything you can get in the area in D.C even if you go to the store yourself,” Kopczynski said.

Every week, Kopczynski heads to Costco to purchase items in bulk and sell them to his customers at prices better than they could find without having to drive to Costco themselves – which would require significant expenses, including owning and parking a car on campus, or spending money to rent a car.

“There is no way to get a case of Gatorade at GW if you don’t want to get it yourself or you have to go to the store and pay store prices,” Kopcyznski said.

Students interviewed said they did not know about the service, but would utilize it if they knew how, including sophomore Alexa Wertman, who said she would utilize the service if the prices were reasonable.