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A Slow-Motion Trainwreck Facing the Meal-Kit Industry

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

#71

Post by stevewillows »

A little off topic, but with the acquisition of Whole Foods, Amazon should pick up one of these services to get people into cooking at home. With the complaints about the estimated v real time for prep and cleaning, they should also include a bunch of videos like ChefSteps that show how to effectively cook and clean at the same time.

They should also sell knives and other kitchen tools.

Lastly, these meal providers should have an app with a running timer that gives directions while you cook. For instance, 'while onions are sauteing, wipe cutting board and crush garlic' --- just like a GPS but for cooking.

The major hurdle for these services is that there is still a certain level of skill assumed -- but if they aren't teaching these skills, the consumer doesn't really come off any better.

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

#72

Post by maxxxxx »

mr_tristan wrote: post #57

The long term trend for "meal kits" is very likely just going to have massive local and regional competition. I'm already seeing this in Portland with several meal delivery services that cater to different lifestyles: gluten free, whole 30, extra protein, etc. These are successful "complete meal delivery" businesses. I see no reason why there can't be "meal kit" variations in the future. The cost of starting up a loc…

Yes, this kind of business could create opportunities for a lot of local small businesses. To me that's much preferable over all-dominating national or global brands.

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

#73

Post by illumin8 »

bradleyjg wrote: post #43
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'm cautiously optimistic about Tovala. They are the first one of these that has a fairly unique system where the food just needs to be popped into their combi-oven (bake, broil, and steam) and you just wait until it cooks." Isn't that just the old TV dinner promise dating back to the 1950s and the invention of the microwave?

Sure, but because a combi-oven can steam as well as bake and broil, you can cook things like vegetables, which would normally be dried out husks in a standard oven. Also, you can broil and get a nice crisp finish.

It's just like a TV dinner or a microwaveable dinner, but hopefully better because you have more cooking capabilities.

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

#74

Post by illumin8 »

lostlogin wrote: post #29
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…

The difference between your drone future and delivered takeaways is the time between the cooking and the serving. As long as takeaways are kept hot (and haven't tuned to a soggy mess) surely better takeaways are easier to engineer?

Take-out is definitely easier to engineer - we know that, but the food quality is never as good when food has been sitting for 30 minutes before you eat it. Hot food becomes lukewarm; cold food becomes warm. Leafy vegetables turn into mush.

I look forward to our robotic, food cooking overlords.

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

#75

Post by Naritai »

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.

But the point has been made several times in this thread, it's not much cheaper. Unless you're referring to some Michelin-starred restaurant, it's quite possible to eat fast-casual for the same price of many of these kits (especially if you live in a suburb where restaurants tend to be much cheaper than in e.g. SF)

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

#76

Post by blhack »

pavel_lishin wrote: post #40
opportune wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you're right, and that people are downvoting you because they are confusing your references to pre-feminism gender roles as you supporting them. As delivery services become faster and more perfected, specifically when we can start using drones to deliver almost anything (which isn't heavy) to anyone in an urban/suburban area in an hour or less, I think we will see the rise of food being ordered and delivered…

> What there is really a market for is a service that can deliver fresh or at least reasonably high quality food, which is customizable to individual preferences, for a reasonable cost (~$5 or so), on-demand, and in a timely manner. Does that also come with a free pony?

Is this really that infeasible? If we just started somewhere unhealthy, and said In N Out with drone delivery, then the $5/meal isn't that far off from what the current cost is.

If we could eliminate the building, the employees (and all of the overhead that goes along with them), and the expensive location that the buildings are usually in, it seems like the cost of the burger could come down.

That sounds pretty nuts, but I don't think it's completely impossible at scale.

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

#77

Post by mothers »

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.

I highly doubt any of these claims are true on the low end. Maybe if you only go to expensive restaurants.

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

#78

Post by komali2 »

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…

I had to catch myself from saying "what the fuck" out loud.

I don't want to be rude to you, but I find this to be hilarious:

>Such a service has no real hope of taking the place of someone with actual cooking skills who knows you well and will tweak the recipe to your preferences, possibly without you even having to explicitly ask or remind her.

Sounds like a job for a... maid! Which really puts a delicious spin on the odd, mildly sexist suggestion that "lack of wives" is a problem that needs disruption.

Or, you know, there's another person that "knows you well and will tweak the recipe to your preferences," namely, yourself.

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

#79

Post by mothers »

generally people who do meal-kits just aren't good at shopping. it isn't cheaper, healthier or faster to cook than regular food. the only thing it might be better at is faster at preparation, an advantage that is negated if you buy a sufficiently large amount of food each time you purchase and pre-prepare (cutting chicken into slices and freezing them, etc.).

tldr: only lazy people with more time than money would be interested in this.

if anyone disagrees go ahead and post your cooking schedule and workflow. i'll point out the glaring inefficiencies (e.g. buying small amounts of food frequently for preparing and then complaining it takes too long to eat; cooking small amounts of food; not preslicing meat upon purchase, etc)

the one thing i'll give meal kits is that you can get a large variety of food.

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

#80

Post by urethrafranklin »

jonknee wrote: post #52
urethrafranklin wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Whole Foods themselves do home delivery. Amazon do not.

Technically Whole Foods does not themselves do delivery (it's Instacart), while Amazon actually does (Fresh)... Amazon's also working on grocery pickup, which seems perfect for meal kits.

Okay, looks like that is true today, but Whole Foods was doing home delivery before Instacart even existed, at least in NYC.

Amazon Fresh outsources their actual delivery, as well, so no points for that one.

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