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{{short description|Subscription service–foodservice business model}}
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{{use dmy dates |date=May 2020}}
[[File:Blue Apron meal kit ingredients.jpg|thumb|upright|The contents of a [[Blue Apron]] meal kit]]A '''meal kit''' is a [[subscription service]]–[[foodservice]] [[business model]] where a company sends customers pre-portioned and sometimes partially prepared food ingredients and [[recipes]] to prepare home-cooked meals.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Best Meal-Kit Delivery Services for 2023 |url=https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-meal-kit-delivery-services |first1=Jill |last1=Duffy |first2=Jordan |last2=Minor |access-date=2023-01-24 |website=PCMAG |language=en}}</ref>  Services that send pre-cooked meals are called [[meal delivery service]]s. This subscription model has been cited as an example of the personalization of the [[Food industry|food]] and [[Drink industry|beverage industry]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Capitalizing on convenience: The rise of meal-kit services and what it means for grocers |language=en-US |work=Food Dive |url=https://www.fooddive.com/news/grocery--capitalizing-on-convenience-the-rise-of-meal-kit-services-and-what-it-means/506834/ |date=Oct 17, 2017  |access-date=2018-09-17}}</ref>
A meal kit is not to be confused with [[convenience food]], which is cooked and "prepared" at a kitchen facility before shipment—typically in a refrigerated container.
==History==
[[File:HelloFresh Taylor pic.jpg|thumb|The contents of a [[HelloFresh]] meal kit]]
The [[business model]] originated in Denmark with the launch of [[Mad til Døren]] in 2003<ref name="madtildoren">{{cite web |url=https://madtildoren.dk/om-os/ |title= Om Os |publisher=Mad til Døren |access-date=26 September 2023 |ref=madtildoren}}</ref> followed by [[RetNemt]] in 2006.<ref name="retnemt">{{cite web |url=https://www.retnemt.dk/om-os |title= Om os |publisher=RetNemt |access-date=26 September 2023}}</ref>
It later spread to Sweden, which some sources describe as the country of origin, crediting either Kicki Theander's launch of [[:sv:Middagsfrid|Middagsfrid]] (roughly translated as "dinnertime bliss") in 2007,<ref name="SegranBattle2">{{cite news |last1=Segran |first1=Elizabeth |date=6 August 2015 |title=The $5 Billion Battle For The American Dinner Plate |work=[[Fast Company (magazine)|Fast Company]] |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/3046685/the-5-billion-battle-for-the-american-dinner-plate |access-date=28 November 2017}}</ref>
or [[:sv:Linas Matkasse|Linas Matkasse]], launched in 2008 by siblings Niklas Aronsson and Lina Gebäck.<ref name="Konrad20152">{{cite news |last1=Konrad |first1=Alex |title=The Swedish Meal Kit Startup That Inspired Blue Apron, Plated And HelloFresh Speaks Out |work=[[Forbes magazine]] |issue=14 October 2015 |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestreptalks/2015/10/14/the-swedish-startup-that-inspired-meal-kits-speaks-out/ |access-date=28 November 2017}}</ref>
Middagsfrid quickly spread to several other Northern European countries, and inspired a range of competitors.<ref name="SegranBattle2" /> Three meal kit companies entered the U.S.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Meal Kit History- infographic |url=https://www.themealkitreview.com/meal-kit-history-infographic/}}</ref> market roughly simultaneously in 2012: [[Blue Apron]], [[HelloFresh]] (which was already operating in Europe), and [[Plated (meal kits)|Plated]].<ref name="Konrad20152" />
==Business==
According to ''[[Inc. (magazine)|Inc Magazine]]'', as of March 2017 there were over 150 meal kit companies in the United States.<ref name="inc2">{{cite web |date=2017-03-17 |title=Martha Stewart New Meal Kit Partnership With Amazon Gives Users More Than Just Convenience |url=https://www.inc.com/emily-canal/can-martha-stewart-and-amazonfresh-meal-kit-partnership-survive.html |access-date=2017-06-23 |website=inc.com}}</ref>  As of July 2017, according to [[Time Magazine]], the meal kit business was estimated to be USD$2.2 billion globally, which represents under 1% of the estimated $1.3 trillion food market.<ref>{{cite web |date=2017-07-19 |title=Why Meal Kits Haven't Delivered a Cooking Revolution—Yet |url=https://time.com/4863064/amazon-meal-kits-blue-apron-cooking/ |access-date=2017-07-20 |website=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]}}</ref> Supermarkets have tried to combat meal kits' popularity by making their own kits sold at store's locations. Blue Apron was the service most used by customers surveyed by [[Morning Consult]] in 2017, followed by HelloFresh and Plated.<ref name="Leonhard20172">{{cite news |last1=Leonhardt |first1=Megan |date=July 20, 2017 |title=These 2 Charts Show Just How Popular Meal-Kit Services Are |work=[[Money.com]] |url=https://money.com/who-buys-meal-kit-services/ |url-status=live |access-date=28 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511145033/https://money.com/who-buys-meal-kit-services/ |archive-date=May 11, 2021}}</ref> Although companies and the category have had rapid growth, they face a substantial challenge in retaining subscribers: many customers only use the services once, lured by offers of free meals, and few people continue past the 5-8 week mark: just 6% of customers surveyed by Morning Consult were still subscribed to most meal kit services after 3 months (although Blue Apron did much better than average at 12% 3-month retention).<ref name="Leonhard20172" />
Online meal kit delivery services (OMDS) businesses increase consumer participation to provide both products and services to consumers by delivering ingredients and preparing meals.<ref>{{cite thesis |id={{ProQuest|2194997037}} |last1=Chandradasa |first1=Giarana Gamage Dhammika Maheshani |date=2018 |title=Value Creation Model of the Online Meal-Kit Delivery Service }}</ref> Following the Covid-19 Pandemic lockdowns, the meal kit industry advanced rapidly, by 2020 HelloFresh reported a 122.6% Y-o-Y revenue growth in Q2.<ref>{{Cite web |last=MarketLine |date=2021-05-10 |title=The meal kit industry boomed in 2020 and will continue to thrive beyond the pandemic |url=https://www.verdictfoodservice.com/comment/meal-kit-boom-continue-beyond-pandemic/ |access-date=2023-01-21 |website=Verdict Food Service |language=en-US}}</ref> The vegetarian segment in 2021 held the largest revenue share of 63.7%, continuing to be the dominant growth for protein consumers. However, the compound annual growth rate for vegetarian meal kits is a projected 17.6% from 2022 to 2030, as plant-based and cruelty-free diets increase around the world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Meal Kit Delivery Services Market Share Report, 2030 |url=https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/meal-kit-delivery-services-market |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=www.grandviewresearch.com |language=en}}</ref> The meal kit industry is worth $5 billion as of 2022 and projected to increase to $11.6 billion by 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-08-04 |title=Trends Shaping The Meal Kit Industry Outlook In 2023 By Linchpin SEO |url=https://linchpinseo.com/trends-shaping-the-meal-kit-industry/ |access-date=2023-02-04 |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Cost ==
Cost is one of the barriers to use for meal kit services. As of early 2023, Everyplate is one of the cheapest meal kit services with plans starting at around $6 a serving.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Watsky |first=David |title=Are Meal Kits More Expensive Than Buying the Groceries? We Do the Math |url=https://www.cnet.com/health/nutrition/are-meal-kits-more-expensive-than-buying-the-groceries/ |access-date=2023-01-21 |website=CNET |language=en}}</ref> The median meal kit ranges from $9 to $10 a serving, and includes companies such as HelloFresh, Blue Apron and Home Chef.<ref name=":1" /> Some of the more expensive meal kit services range from $10 to $13 a serving from services such as Sunbasket and Green Chef.<ref name=":1" />
==List of notable meal kit services==<!--Entries in this list should have a Wikipedia article.-->
{{Div col|colwidth=22em}}
*[[Blue Apron]]
*[[Cook it]]
*[[Goodfood]]
*[[Gousto]]
*[[HelloFresh]]
*[[Home Chef]]
*[[Mindful Chef]]
*[[My Food Bag]]
*[[Plated (meal kits)|Plated]]
*[[Purple Carrot]]
*[[Sunbasket]]
*[[Tovala]]
{{div col end}}
==Environmental impact==
[[File:Meal_kit_gel_pack.jpg|thumb|upright|Meal kit refrigerated gel pack used during shipping]]
Environmental impacts of meal kit delivery services include the following:
On one hand, the industry has come under criticism for the difficulty recycling the freezer gel packs included with the kits to keep meats and dairy products refrigerated during shipping.  The active ingredient in many gel packs is [[sodium polyacrylate]], a non-toxic powder that can stay cold when saturated with water and frozen.<ref>{{cite web |date=2017-06-04 |title=The Truth About Meal-Kit Freezer Packs |url=https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2017/06/meal-kit-freezer-packs-blue-apron-hello-fresh/ |access-date=2017-07-05 |website=motherjones.com}}</ref>
Despite packaging concerns, meal kit dinners on average, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 30% running on delivery routes, compared to grocery store visits which require more energy and frequency as individuals transport there and back.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |date=August 2019 |title=Meal Kits Better for Environment |journal=Environmental Nutrition |volume=42 |issue=8 |pages=1 |via=Gale Academic OneFile}}</ref> Meal kits may reduce food waste by providing the precise measured amount of ingredients for use, while ingredients are purchased in larger quantities at grocery stores.<ref name=":0" />
Customers who rely on in-store grocery shopping would have to maintain less than 1 grocery visit per week to reach energy saving equivalence to packaging and transportation of meal kits.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gee |first1=Isabella M. |last2=Davidson |first2=F. Todd |last3=Speetles |first3=Brittany L. |last4=Webber |first4=Michael E. |title=Deliver Me from food waste: Model framework for comparing the energy use of meal-kit delivery and groceries |journal=Journal of Cleaner Production |date=November 2019 |volume=236 |pages=117587 |doi=10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.07.062 |s2cid=199363230 }}</ref> When measuring the supply chain from start to finish, the life cycle environmental impact of grocery retailers is much higher than simplified transportation of meal delivery kits from supplier to home.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Heard |first1=Brent R. |last2=Bandekar |first2=Mayur |last3=Vassar |first3=Benjamin |last4=Miller |first4=Shelie A. |title=Comparison of life cycle environmental impacts from meal kits and grocery store meals |journal=Resources, Conservation and Recycling |date=August 2019 |volume=147 |pages=189–200 |doi=10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.04.008 |s2cid=150013337 }}</ref>
== Nutritional value ==
Studies on meal kit delivery services in Australia found that although meals contained a variety of vegetables in their servings, meals were measured to be considerably high in fat and exceeded the dietary target for sodium intake.<ref name=":22">{{cite journal |last1=Fraser |first1=Kylie |last2=Love |first2=Penny |last3=Campbell |first3=Karen J. |last4=Ball |first4=Kylie |last5=Opie |first5=Rachelle S. |title=Meal kits in the family setting: Impacts on family dynamics, nutrition, social and mental health |journal=Appetite |date=February 2022 |volume=169 |pages=105816 |doi=10.1016/j.appet.2021.105816 |pmid=34801628 |s2cid=244398569 }}</ref>
Research conducted on people with overweight conditions found that meal kit delivery programs, in addition to health/nutrition education resulted in a significant positive intake of fruits and vegetables, though body composition and macronutrient had slightly to no change.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=KheirmandParizi |first1=Maryam |last2=Sorrini |first2=Sara |last3=Plourde |first3=Hugues |last4=Cohen |first4=Tamara |title=Changes in Dietary Intake After an 8-week Meal-Kit Delivery Program in Adults With an Overweight Condition or Obesity |journal=Current Developments in Nutrition |date=7 June 2021 |volume=5 |issue=Supplement_2 |pages=978 |doi=10.1093/cdn/nzab051_022 |pmc=8181292 }}</ref>
== Meal kit user experience ==
Meal kit subscribers are mostly young (Gen-X and Millennials), overwhelmingly urban, and skew male and upper-income.<ref name="Leonhard20172"/> As reported by meal kit users, the main reasons for use are to save time planning/shopping and minimize overall waste with portioned ingredients.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Amanda Schoenbauer |title=Meal Kit Market: Discover Industry Trends |url=https://www.numerator.com/resources/blog/whos-and-whys-behind-meal-kit-buys |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=www.numerator.com |language=en}}</ref> Meal kits may improve food literacy skills, by introducing customers to nutritional guidelines and portion sizes with well balanced recipes.<ref name=":22"/> There is an estimated user market of 93 million people in the U.S. who have yet to try meal kits, but are still interested in experiencing it, opening potential doors to the industry for the long term.<ref>{{cite press release |id={{ProQuest|2190296566}} |title=93 Million U.S. Adults Have Yet To Use A Meal Kit But Are Interested in Giving Them A Try |url=https://www.prweb.com/releases/93-million-u-s-adults-have-yet-to-use-a-meal-kit-but-are-interested-in-giving-them-a-try-868969228.html |publisher=The NPD Group |date=13 March 2019 }}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Online food ordering}}
[[Category:Foodservice]]
[[Category:Meals|kit]]
[[Category:Revenue models]]