I was recently chatting with my colleague who just came back from maternity leave about how her life has changed. We discussed the usual—sleep schedules, child care, etc.—and then I asked her about meals. She shared what a struggle it has been to decide which meal solution option to go with. She loves to cook, but is now strapped for time; enjoys grocery shopping, but struggles with having to go to multiple stores to meet her needs with a little one. Then she said something that surprised me, “I should probably try a meal kit, but I really don’t know if it would make my life easier or if the expense is worth it. I guess I just don’t trust that it’s the right model for me yet.”
We’ve heard it a million times—life changes impact shopper’s needs and are an opportunity to capture new shoppers and larger baskets. Here’s a new mom who is clearly looking for convenience, knows of options like meal kits, but is overwhelmed by the idea of making a switch and doesn’t trust the model. I was honestly a bit shocked this Millennial wasn’t just diving into the latest food trend and it made me wonder, what do we really know about the meal kit consumer?
According to the Power of Foodservice at Retail 2018 report, awareness of meal kits is high (86 percent), but only 22 percent of shoppers have actually used meal kits. According to Nielsen, the opportunity for meal kids is large with more than 30 million households saying they would consider trying a meal kit in the next six months and 10.5 million households already purchasing meal kits.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Food Marketing Institute