Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

A Slow-Motion Trainwreck Facing the Meal-Kit Industry

medium.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

251–260 of 320 posts

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

#251

Post by Avshalom »

jessaustin wrote: post #176
ghaff wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem--and this is an issue with slow cookers as well--is that dump a bunch of stuff in and walk away doesn't work all that well for most recipes. Some browning etc. does a lot to develop flavors.

This seems kind of niche, but a service could do the browning in-house before they package and send the meal? I have to think a browned cut of meat would last just as long, if not longer, than a raw cut?

A company could do all the cooking in-house but these companies are all walking a line between "grocery delivery" and "freezer aisle food" and I'm sure they're all really hoping they don't accidentally step onto a slippery slope and wind up being "Hungry Man for rich people" (not that that isn't honestly a perfectly great company, it's just not sexy enough for VC money).

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

#252

Post by vitaminbandit »

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…

Uh, what exactly is your competitive edge? You've framed the problem but haven't provided any details on how using customer data and preferences solves it.

Isn't the most accurate customer preference data the actual real-time decision that the customer makes at the time of order?

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

#253

Post by tomjen3 »

munchbunny wrote: post #245
btilly wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I have a sousvide cooker and a slow cooker so that I can have the machines make food for me when I am not at home.

Throw some meat into the sousvide in the morning, come home to a really nice piece of meat that you can take right out of the machine. Save any excess and reheat out the next day.

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

#254

Post by CamperBob2 »

Mz wrote: post #10

I feel like the real problem with meal-in-a-box delivery services is that they are trying to fill the empty shoes of a missing full-time wife and mom because there are more two career couples and both spouses now "need a wife" and it can't be found. The problem is that such a service has no real hope of taking the place of someone with actual cooking skill who knows you well and will tweak the recipe to your preferen…

Hmm. Cooking a nice meal is a lot of work but it does scale to a certain extent, once you're over the initial hump. It's not that much harder to cook for 6 people than for 3.

So, that makes me wonder if a Craigslist/Uber hybrid service would be viable. Basically a way to allow those full-time neighborhood housewives to pick up a few extra bucks by offering to cook 2x - 3x as much as required to feed their own families. The surplus homecooked meals would be picked up and delivered to someone else in the neighborhood who doesn't have the time, the talent, or the wife.

It might not make much money, and it would probably draw the ire of local health authorities in much the same way that Uber and Lyft crossed swords with the taxi cartels. But I'd probably use a service like that, or at least try it. And it's not every day I get to bust out a zeugma.

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

#255

Post by mstaoru »

vitaminbandit wrote: post #252
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…

Uh, what exactly is your competitive edge? You've framed the problem but haven't provided any details on how using customer data and preferences solves it. Isn't the most accurate customer preference data the actual real-time decision that the customer makes at the time of order?

Hey! Didn't want to provide details that aren't relevant to the parent topic.

We built a system to calculate science-backed meal plans based on customer data. Calories, macronutrients, micronutrients, vitamins, probiotics, fiber. Water.

We have over 5000 cookbooks from all over the World from which we curate our recipes, input them and get full nutritional breakdowns.

It is probably THE most important part of any diet — the ability to actually stick to it and enjoy it. What we want to do is to completely take away the decision fatigue, and provide diverse food that is tailored to your body.

Nutrition is complicated, and things that work for some people may not work for the other. The feedback loop is important. If a customer wants to lose fat or gain muscle, we track the progress and adjust their diets accordingly.

PS: "Real-time decision that the customer makes at the time of order" is fueled by ghrelin and stress, decision fatigue and availability, and is most often poor.

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

#256

Post by fusiongyro »

Mz wrote: post #131
fusiongyro wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought you were suggesting that life was better when we had a sole breadwinner and a stay-at-home wife. I don't agree with that and read your comment uncharitably that way. On rereading it, I think you're saying there are two optimal points on this curve: having a live-in cook ("the wife") and going to a restaurant, and most of the stuff in the middle is pointless. I don't agree with that either but it's less of a…

All I'm saying is that it is a hard problem to solve. Our previous solution was full time wives. This had its good points and bad points. We do not appear to have found The Solution since moving away from that earlier model for the most part. In my experience, when people are reading "subtext" into my comments, they are typically projecting something that is simply not there at all. I do my best to be a straight shoo…

If people systematically seem to misunderstand you, maybe the problem is you. "Everywhere I touch hurts" sometimes means your finger is hurt, not your whole body.

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

#257

Post by vitaminbandit »

mstaoru wrote: post #255
vitaminbandit wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uh, what exactly is your competitive edge? You've framed the problem but haven't provided any details on how using customer data and preferences solves it. Isn't the most accurate customer preference data the actual real-time decision that the customer makes at the time of order?

Hey! Didn't want to provide details that aren't relevant to the parent topic. We built a system to calculate science-backed meal plans based on customer data. Calories, macronutrients, micronutrients, vitamins, probiotics, fiber. Water. We have over 5000 cookbooks from all over the World from which we curate our recipes, input them and get full nutritional breakdowns. It is probably THE most important part of any die…

Ok, so your product is a niche fitness meal plan rather than a traditional meal plan. Your primary objection to existing options was that "The food is very meh." You can see how that can be confusing.

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

#258

Post by mattnewport »

agentgt wrote: post #164

Been to a Wholefoods lately?... seen the prepared foods section or any grocery store prepared foods lately.... seen how many people buy prepared foods? Ever see a family eat the same thing. I mean a family of say five and not DINKs. Amazon acquiring WFM will just make it worse if instacart wasn't already.

> Ever see a family eat the same thing. I mean a family of say five

What do you mean by this? When I was growing up the whole family (of 4, plus dog eating leftovers) ate the same meal. Is that not the norm? Is it an American thing?

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

#259

Post by pnathan »

Mz wrote: post #194
pnathan wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> fill the empty shoes of a missing full-time wife and mom because there are more two career couples and both spouses now "need a wife" and it can't be found. This can be true when one person is the breadwinner and the other is practically/partially disabled, too. I don't know if you've read this book, but it is fascinating . https://www.amazon.com/Way-We-Never-Were-Nostalgia/dp/046509... Of course, this book isn't t…

I am not familiar with that book, but I am well aware that our mental models about the nuclear family are basically rooted in a very brief window of time when "The Boys" came home from WW2 and women went home en masse to be homemakers etc. I actually blog some about the truly terrible effect this has had on our housing situation because we are still basically being haunted by the ghost of this brief anomalous time th…

I'd be interested in links to your blog.

I have been persuaded for a number of years now that the 35-year World War broke Western civilization thoroughly and deeply, with an interregnum to ensure a whole generation and its children got the hit, and only in the past, say, 20 years have scholars been able to get enough distance from it to look critically enough to remark with equanimity on the matter.

To me, it is sufficient to look at the evolution of fine art to demonstrate the point. But one can also look at complexity of language usage by educated individuals over time, social cohesion, pride in civilization, historical knowledge by educated individuals, etc.

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

#260

Post by puranjay »

harryh wrote: post #17
Mz wrote: post #10

I feel like the real problem with meal-in-a-box delivery services is that they are trying to fill the empty shoes of a missing full-time wife and mom because there are more two career couples and both spouses now "need a wife" and it can't be found. The problem is that such a service has no real hope of taking the place of someone with actual cooking skill who knows you well and will tweak the recipe to your preferen…

If you can afford a meal-in-a-box service, why would you not just go to a restaurant Because I'd rather eat at home. Especially if I have kids. It's easier. Because it's a lot cheaper. Because it's better for me from a health perspective.

One thing people miss out: at home, I have complete control over portion sizes.

I tend to end up overeating at restaurants because the portions are bigger.

At home, I can only serve as much as I want and keep the rest in the fridge.

In theory, I can - and do - do that at restaurants as well, but somehow, the restaurant environment promotes eating more. If I have four bites left, I might hesitate to ask for a takeaway box. But in the house, I can just throw that into a tupperware and pop it in the fridge

Post reply on HN