A Slow-Motion Trainwreck Facing the Meal-Kit Industry • Hacker News Board

Re: A Slow-Motion Trainwreck Facing the Meal-Kit Industry

#241

Post by dragonwriter » Wed, Jun 28, 2017, 2:13 AM UTC

rconti wrote: post #224

inZGBl wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This doesn't hold true for the rest of America. Go build a chipotle meal at some other zip code. South East: 1 chipotle burrito bowl, chicken, black beans, brown rice, guac, hot salsa, cheese 1 22oz drink Total - $10.20

I thought Chipotle was straight-up fast food, and that's already more expensive than Blue Apron. To me, fast-casual means Chili's, Applebee's, etc. You're talking easily $15/pp without alcohol or tax or tip. Plus at least 90 minutes out of your day to get there, wait for your waiter, get the menu, order, wait, ask for the check, wait, get the check, pay the check, wait for the check to come back, leave, go home.

> I thought Chipotle was straight-up fast food

I tend to think of it that way, but it's pretty much, among national chains, the one that is held out as the archetypical fast-casual (IME, it's pretty bottom of the barrel for partial-table service, and no more fast-casual than Carl's Jr., which also has partial table service.)

Re: A Slow-Motion Trainwreck Facing the Meal-Kit Industry

#242

Post by mstaoru » Wed, Jun 28, 2017, 2:31 AM UTC

...in the US. We do a similar, but very different, thing here in China, Shanghai. Not only building the meal plans but also cooking and delivering it every day.

The city is flat and dense, 10000+ people per sqmi dense. Every day local food delivery companies jump on their electric scooters and deliver over 2,300,000 meals (2016 data, now probably more). In one city.

I can choose from 2,980 restaurants near me. If I add ¥5 (~$0.8) extra delivery fee, a bit farther, making it 8,600 restaurants. Decision fatigue multiplied by "I'm hungry just get me that deep fried chicken NOW" thing.

The food is very meh. Mid- to high-end restaurants don't do it. Good restaurants have enough business to skip deliveries at all. Meal kits tried and failed here, because people are just too busy and stressed to cook. Average rent is 140% of average salary. Overtime is a norm.

So we figured, why don't we take customer data + preferences, make a feedback loop and build FULL meal plans for them that they will 1) be happy to eat, 2) reach their fitness goals with, 3) be able to afford? By "full" I mean including healthy drinks and snacks. Lots of meal kit companies, food deliveries, and meal plan builders forget this.

We're in stealth mode so far, but I believe this will work in China.

Re: A Slow-Motion Trainwreck Facing the Meal-Kit Industry

#243

Post by greglindahl » Wed, Jun 28, 2017, 2:34 AM UTC

mothers wrote: post #166

dragonwriter wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Meal kits are making your own food. What you are paying for is, well, the "kit" part: not having to shop with potentially inconvenient sizes, and getting everything pre-measured for the meal.

sure. however meal kits are inferior to just going to the grocery store in most ways.

I use the time I used to spend grocery shopping posting on HN. So I like the meal kits. Obviously ymmv.

Re: A Slow-Motion Trainwreck Facing the Meal-Kit Industry

#244

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Jun 28, 2017, 2:40 AM UTC

mstaoru wrote: post #242

...in the US. We do a similar, but very different, thing here in China, Shanghai. Not only building the meal plans but also cooking and delivering it every day. The city is flat and dense, 10000+ people per sqmi dense. Every day local food delivery companies jump on their electric scooters and deliver over 2,300,000 meals (2016 data, now probably more). In one city. I can choose from 2,980 restaurants near me. If I a…

[deleted]

Re: A Slow-Motion Trainwreck Facing the Meal-Kit Industry

#245

Post by munchbunny » Wed, Jun 28, 2017, 3:01 AM UTC

btilly wrote: post #215

munchbunny wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Often, they promise it only takes 15-30 minutes for an entire meal, but apparently I'm not a professional chef who can wash vegetables, dice them, prepare marinades, chop garlic, and do all of this in just a few minutes. I end up usually spending between 60-90 minutes just to cook a recipe, which is way too much labor for a meal that is already priced about the same as a restaurant meal. I think this is one place w…

Are we talking your time, or wall-clock time? Melt butter, add lemon juice, salt and a dash of hot sauce to make a liquid. Rub liquid over chicken. Put chicken in oven at 400 until done. (How much you need and how long you take depends on whether you did this with a whole chicken or pieces of chicken. Let's call it an hour. Use an oven thermometer if you don't know how to tell.) Put some water in the bottom of a pot,…

I meant wall-clock time. You have a point that there are lots of recipes that don't need much hands-on time - I personally do that a lot.

However, since wall-clock time often does need to go up to an hour, you have to schedule it into your day. You can't put the chicken into the oven if you're not home. I think the allure of 15-30 minute recipes is that 30 minutes is sort of the upper threshold for spontaneity: "I'll just cook whenever I get home." The problem is that if your filter is "recipes that take less than 30 minutes of wall-clock time," you end up with a very restricted book of recipes to work with.

Re: A Slow-Motion Trainwreck Facing the Meal-Kit Industry

#246

Post by shostack » Wed, Jun 28, 2017, 3:01 AM UTC

pbreit wrote: post #226

munchbunny wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Often, they promise it only takes 15-30 minutes for an entire meal, but apparently I'm not a professional chef who can wash vegetables, dice them, prepare marinades, chop garlic, and do all of this in just a few minutes. I end up usually spending between 60-90 minutes just to cook a recipe, which is way too much labor for a meal that is already priced about the same as a restaurant meal. I think this is one place w…

People looking for quicker cook time: GoodEggs new kit offering cuts down on time. Ingredients are extremely fresh and you get 3x3 portions for $70. Might be SF-only now.

I wish there was one for slow/pressure cookers that I could make stuff in bulk with that froze nicely.

Re: A Slow-Motion Trainwreck Facing the Meal-Kit Industry

#247

Post by shostack » Wed, Jun 28, 2017, 3:03 AM UTC

andrewfong wrote: post #107

illumin8 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've tried BlueApron and HelloFresh. I enjoy cooking, and the quality of the recipes is great, but damn, it takes too long to make their recipes. Often, they promise it only takes 15-30 minutes for an entire meal, but apparently I'm not a professional chef who can wash vegetables, dice them, prepare marinades, chop garlic, and do all of this in just a few minutes. I end up usually spending between 60-90 minutes just…

I have an automatic pressure cooker. It's awesome. I'd love a service that just delivered a package full of stuff to dump in a pressure cooker and nothing else.

I too want this. Let me make something in bulk that freezes well or feeds lots of people.

Re: A Slow-Motion Trainwreck Facing the Meal-Kit Industry

#248

Post by ScottBurson » Wed, Jun 28, 2017, 3:21 AM UTC

illumin8 wrote: post #20

pavel_lishin wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you can afford a meal-in-a-box service, why would you not just go to a restaurant where the wait staff will do a decent job as a substitute for your own live-in cook previously known as The Wife? I always say that these are for people with more money than time. The reason they don't go to a restaurant is because you like cooking - or at least, you like the idea of being someone who cooks. But the ad copy is righ…

I've tried BlueApron and HelloFresh. I enjoy cooking, and the quality of the recipes is great, but damn, it takes too long to make their recipes. Often, they promise it only takes 15-30 minutes for an entire meal, but apparently I'm not a professional chef who can wash vegetables, dice them, prepare marinades, chop garlic, and do all of this in just a few minutes. I end up usually spending between 60-90 minutes just…

You might want to try Gobble. Their "10 minute" claim is, uh, marketing, but I find most of them are in the 20 - 30 minute range for me (not an experienced chef). They're pretty good about doing most of the prep work for you, and the food has generally been delicious. (Indeed, I'm about to cut back on it, because I've gained too much weight!)

Re: A Slow-Motion Trainwreck Facing the Meal-Kit Industry

#249

Post by jerkstate » Wed, Jun 28, 2017, 3:27 AM UTC

munchbunny wrote: post #128

illumin8 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've tried BlueApron and HelloFresh. I enjoy cooking, and the quality of the recipes is great, but damn, it takes too long to make their recipes. Often, they promise it only takes 15-30 minutes for an entire meal, but apparently I'm not a professional chef who can wash vegetables, dice them, prepare marinades, chop garlic, and do all of this in just a few minutes. I end up usually spending between 60-90 minutes just…

> Often, they promise it only takes 15-30 minutes for an entire meal, but apparently I'm not a professional chef who can wash vegetables, dice them, prepare marinades, chop garlic, and do all of this in just a few minutes. I end up usually spending between 60-90 minutes just to cook a recipe, which is way too much labor for a meal that is already priced about the same as a restaurant meal. I think this is one place w…

They used to take me longer, but I've figured out that almost all of the recipes are mostly parallelizable. I usually read through the recipe all the way at first, and then wash and chop only what's necessary for any marinade/boil/roast steps, then after that's started wash and chop any frying steps, and if there's a sauce or salsa to be made, get my wife to prep that while I'm frying the meat or veggies. It's important to keep an eye on your clock and gain confidence about how long things have been going so you don't have to keep checking on them, opening the pot/door and losing heat and time. I am able to prepare almost every recipe in less time than they say. It does take some confidence and time/temperature management to do multiple steps at the same time, though.

Re: A Slow-Motion Trainwreck Facing the Meal-Kit Industry

#250

Post by rplst8 » Wed, Jun 28, 2017, 3:29 AM UTC

mothers wrote: post #166

dragonwriter wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Meal kits are making your own food. What you are paying for is, well, the "kit" part: not having to shop with potentially inconvenient sizes, and getting everything pre-measured for the meal.

sure. however meal kits are inferior to just going to the grocery store in most ways.

I disagree entirely. I cannot get the ingredients for most of Plated meals for what they charge. I end up with lots of spoiled food, unless I make huge batches and eat the same thing all week.