VENTURA, Calif. — FreshRealm, a leading fresh meals solution provider, announced today the expansion of its operational facilities nationally as part of the company’s continued strategy to optimize its position in the high growth fresh meals category at retail. The facilities, which are slated to be fully operational from fall 2021 through mid 2022, will allow the company to generate more than 100 million meals per year across the company’s complete range: ready-to-cook, ready-to-heat, and meal kits.
The expanded production capabilities will allow FreshRealm to address the anticipated $30 billion retail grocery market opportunity for fresh meals.1 The facilities will also enable the company to capture growing consumer demand as more than 90% of families say they plan to continue or increase home dining post pandemic.2 And with retailers reporting a 50% increase in sales of prepared foods and the fresh perimeter rebounding – accounting for more than 30% of sales in the first half of 2021 – FreshRealm is poised to capture a growing market opportunity.3,4
Strategically located to ensure just-in-time national distribution, the facilities will be horizontally integrated, allowing the company to maximize supply chain efficiencies and continue to create a full range of meals under one roof. This proprietary model includes a best-in-class food quality and safety management system to ensure that the freshest and highest quality meals: ready-to-cook, ready-to-heat, and meal kits are produced.
“Our new state-of-the-art facilities will provide FreshRealm with increased agility, better quality control and rapid line expansion to ensure we can produce superior short shelf life meals at a scale that’s relevant to the retail industry,” said Michael Lippold, Founder and CEO. “Through extensive research and development, we’ve been able to optimize our production runs and capacity to create fresh meals for today’s most innovative and forward thinking retailers, while keeping our costs extremely competitive.”
The four optimized facilities in California, Georgia, Indiana, and New Jersey, will be fully operational in fall 2021. A fifth facility located in Texas is set to be online in the first half 2022. The expansion will further extend the company’s reach, providing access to the top 20 metropolitan cities in the United States and reaching 85% of the U.S. population in just 10 hours. The strategic locations also will ensure just-in-time delivery to maximize the shelf life of the company’s product lines – ensuring delivery within 24 hours of meal assembly.
About FreshRealm
FreshRealm, a leading fresh meals solution provider at retail, partners with retailers to create Fresh Meals destinations that provide vibrant and convenient solutions for a busy and healthier consumer lifestyle.
With a belief that we all connect through meals, FreshRealm’s team of culinary experts curate a range of inspired meals using the very best ingredients so that consumers can enjoy delicious, fresh meals with little to no effort. The company is 100% focused on fresh meals to provide a complete retail solution; from product design, sourcing, implementation, meal assembly, logistics, through marketing & promotion.
1 IRI [Feb 2021]
2 Acosta Research [May 2021]
3 Supermarket News 2021 Fresh Survey [June 2021]
4 Food Marketing Institute [January 2021]
