The free soda n junk in startups is bullshit. I'd rather get paid a little more and spend that on what I choose (something healthy).
Who would be enticed by that?
What is enticing to me is the freedom to work how/where/when I want.
We get free bread for lunch. Cool, but I don't wanna eat bread.
Coffee is free. Cool, but it is bad quality, my el cheapo espresso machine at home is even better. Plus I'll experience a massive down in the evening. Oh hey, not the employer's problem.
I've never seen free soda anywhere, but the thing is: it is just a lot of sugar, with too little water. I won't drink that if I get paid for it.
At least water is free, and that's important in the summer. I'm free to go grab a cup, and the walk is healthy, too.
Then there's these parties 'for team spirit', with all kind of fried food. Cool. Guess who pays for that?
Screw all this. Like you said; "I'd rather get paid a little bit more."
No transaction costs. Not just the actual monetary cost of the transaction, but no need to employ people to man registers, no need to wait in line to pay. And more subtly, no need to argue with yourself about whether it's worth it to buy the item you are consuming.
Secondly, these perks are bought in bulk and provided without having to pay income tax on them. So it's just cheaper than paying people more and having them buy the goods.
That being said, I do wish there were more healthy options by default.