​Four Ways To Build Community With Fika

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​Four Ways To Build Community With Fika

We like to tap into other cultures here at Amy’s: Incorporating flavors for our dishes, high quality cheese for our meals, even good people for our teams. We’re inspired by our travels and keen to celebrate the best ideas from around the world.

One of our favorite new international traditions is the Swedish custom of Fika. It’s a time, during the workday, when people gather to eat, drink and connect. When everyone prioritizes conversation over conference calls, eating over emails. Fika is ingrained in offices everywhere in Sweden and catching on quickly here at Amy’s.

Julia Duffy, one of the enthusiastic members of our marketing team, first kicked off Fika here at Amy’s, drawing inspiration from this article and receiving full support from our VP of Marketing. In only a few weeks, Julia had our entire marketing team looking forward to Fika time and connecting on a new level.

“Since we started Fika in the office, there has been an overall increase in team spirit -- it has unified us as a team,” Julia says. “By getting together every day, we are able to gather and share our outside lives with the people we spend 8+ hours with a day. We have created a great family environment in our department, and it allows us to really live the Amy's values and take care of one another.”

Fika is also a great stress relief. “People from other departments stop by, and we get to learn more about them. Sometimes we will have people share an interesting topic, and we learn new things. Not to mention, who doesn’t love a food break!?”

Ready to join the club?

Julia put together some tips and tricks for implementing Fika at your office and shares how best to get the gathering started.

1. Follow the Rule

The one rule of Fika is: No Work Talk! Fika is only 10-15 minutes at 3:00 p.m., so stepping away from the desk -- and the to dos -- is key. We like to ring a bell to let people know Fika has started, to signal for everyone to head over to the space set up for snacks. We also end Fika with a bell as well, getting back to work energized to finish the rest of the day.

2. Bring Snacks

It wouldn’t be Fika without the food! Here at Amy’s, we started by providing the food, but soon, people brought food to share. (People love to cook here at Amy’s, and it’s a great time to share that passion -- not to mention some recipes.) Focus on finger foods and small bites so it makes it easy and inviting to eat and chat. Here are some of our favorites:

  • Popcorn
  • Chips and Amy’s Salsa
  • Fresh fruit -- apple slices with almond butter
  • Veggies, hummus and pretzels (pretzels dipped in hummus are soo good!)
  • Amy's Swirls or Candy Bites
  • Local bread and jam
  • Tamari roasted nuts

3. Make it a Celebration

Since the team is already gathered, use the opportunity to celebrate important milestones. We’ve had impromptu birthday parties and baby showers but also "job well done" celebrations, too. You can’t talk about work, but you can certainly honor the great work people have done. For those special Fikas, feed your team with flare. A few suggestions:

  • Cheese plates
  • Smoothies
  • Root beer floats
  • Ice cream sundaes (We use Amy's NDFD with candy bar toppings)
  • Homemade cupcakes
  • Vegan Pies

We try and always include organic items, and vegan and gluten free options.

4. Get the Conversation Started

Ask everyone to tell you something good. Talk about what’s planned for the weekend. Invite movie reviews. You can ask question starters at the beginning, but really conversations will just spontaneously start to happen. Just having the desire to get to know your coworkers is enough to make people talk.

A boss of mine shared with me a long time ago that the best way to really get to know people is to break bread with them. Having Fika at the office gives us that extra opportunity to do so. There is just something special that happens when you share a meal or a snack with someone.

Amy
Written by

Amy

Amy Van Haren is the former Sr. Manager of Digital and Social Marketing at Amy’s. She loves telling stories through digital media and seeing what fans will share next. She has an affinity for colored pens, loves a good brainstorm with doodles and is always on the lookout for an amazing guacamole recipe.