Consumer demand for meal kit delivery is seeing a resurgence amid the coronavirus crisis, as homebound consumers seek fresh dinner solutions to feed their families.
While the viability of the once-hot meal kit segment was being questioned by many observers in the months before the COVID-19 pandemic, meal kit companies say they are seeing increased volumes, and in some cases are struggling to keep up. In addition, several restaurant operators — suffering huge sales declines amid widespread bans on in-store dining — have seized the opportunity to add meal kits to their offerings.
"Purple Carrot has been seeing a sharp increase in demand for our plant-based meal kits since COVID-19 has been shifting consumer behavior,” said Andy Levitt, CEO of the Needham, Massachusetts-based vegan meal-kit company.
Purple Carrot’s fulfillment centers are operating “in full swing,” he said, and the company is working to ensure that it has enough supply to meet growing demand — a problem cited by other meal kit operators. In a letter posted on the company’s website last month, Levitt asked customers to be patient if their orders contain some substitute ingredients.
“We anticipate this demand for our meal kits to continue, and are happy to be able to provide some level of comfort and joy to those confined to their homes and struggling to operate in this new reality,” Levitt said in a statement to Specialty Food News.
Purple Carrot is also donating a percentage of its sales to Feeding America through the end of May. In addition, the company is offering a 30 percent discount to healthcare professionals for all Purple Carrot meal kits through the end of May.
Multinational meal kit giant HelloFresh, which is based in Berlin, Germany, but has a significant presence in the U.S., said it, too, has seen increased demand. In a statement issued March 30, the company said it saw strong volume growth in January and February, and then “further meaningful acceleration” in the last half of March, which it attributed to the pandemic.
“We have been seeing an increase in demand, for which we have been well prepared,” the company said in a statement to Specialty Food News. “We are continuing to accept and serve new customers while working around the clock to deliver our boxes on time and without any major disruptions to our service.”
The company added that it has been working closely with suppliers to ensure that it can meet consumer demand.
Long-term Outlook is Uncertain
Before the coronavirus began having an impact on sales, HelloFresh had previously estimated that its revenues would would rise between 22 and 27 percent in fiscal 2020. It said it is maintaining that projection, citing the unknown impact the virus will have on the global economy in the long term.
“From today's perspective, the company considers the uncertainties and resulting full-year impact created by the COVID-19 pandemic for the global economy and the company as not reliably quantifiable,” HelloFresh said in a statement.
Both Purple Carrot and HelloFresh emphasized that they are taking extraordinary steps to protect the health and safety of their workers and the community, including increased sanitization of facilities and other measures.
“All HelloFresh facilities have the highest level of food safety certification, and we follow a rigorous process to maintain the safety and quality of our meal kits,” the company said. “We have implemented additional safety measures such as more frequent hand-washing and sanitization of our facilities along with limited access to our production site.”
New York-based Blue Apron, one of the pioneers of the meal-kit business in the U.S. that has also been a poster child for the struggles of the segment, has also seen increased sales, according to reports.
A spokesperson for Blue Apron was not immediately available for comment.
Restaurants Join In
Meanwhile, all across the country, restaurant operators, which in many cases are struggling to stay in business with limited takeout and delivery services, have also been adding meal kits to their menus.
At Comedor, an upscale Mexican restaurant in Austin, Texas, the company this week launched a new meal-kit service called Assembly Kitchen that includes the ingredients needed to make some of the restaurant’s most popular dishes, such as bone marrow tacos and pollo adobo. The offering also includes links to instructional videos featuring chefs Gabe Erales and Phillip Speer. Orders placed before 3 p.m. are delivered between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. each day, according to the company’s website.
This week burger chain Shake Shake also launched do-it-yourself ShackBurger meal kits for eight through its nationwide delivery-ordering company Goldbelly, which offers a platform for its restaurant partners to provide packaged delivery of popular items nationwide.
The Shake Shack kits include eight, 100 percent Angus Pat LaFrieda beef patties, eight Martin’s potato rolls, American cheese and the chain’s signature ShackSauce.
Related: Consumer Demand for Meal Kits Surges; Blue Cross Blue Shield Subsidiary to End Food Delivery.
Photo: Purple Carrot
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