A Slow-Motion Trainwreck Facing the Meal-Kit Industry
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Re: A Slow-Motion Trainwreck Facing the Meal-Kit Industry
#2It seems that there's more potential for meaningful differentiation than in the case of the Groupon-type services but the rush to be one of the few winners who IPO and damn the customer acquisition costs seem like valid points.
These services just seem very niche-y to me. I'm not really the target market but, for any given service, there's a pretty narrow profile of cost-sensitivity, interest in prepping/cooking but not just buying ingredients, ability to plan a week out, etc.
Finally, if there were a real clamor for meal kits, what's to keep Whole Foods or whoever from just assembling their own meal kits?
Re: A Slow-Motion Trainwreck Facing the Meal-Kit Industry
#3It seems that there's more potential for meaningful differentiation than in the case of the Groupon-type services but the rush to be one of the few winners who IPO and damn the customer acquisition costs seem like valid points. These services just seem very niche-y to me. I'm not really the target market but, for any given service, there's a pretty narrow profile of cost-sensitivity, interest in prepping/cooking but…
I agree. It seems like these will eventually lose to just normal automated grocery delivery. You will always need other food than just the kits even if they are cost competitive in NYC, etc.
Re: A Slow-Motion Trainwreck Facing the Meal-Kit Industry
#4It seems that there's more potential for meaningful differentiation than in the case of the Groupon-type services but the rush to be one of the few winners who IPO and damn the customer acquisition costs seem like valid points. These services just seem very niche-y to me. I'm not really the target market but, for any given service, there's a pretty narrow profile of cost-sensitivity, interest in prepping/cooking but…
> Finally, if there were a real clamor for meal kits, what's to keep Whole Foods or whoever from just assembling their own meal kits?
Home delivery seems to be one of the key factors, so as long as Whole Foods/etc can offer home delivery, then yeah there's nothing stopping them.
Re: A Slow-Motion Trainwreck Facing the Meal-Kit Industry
#5It seems that there's more potential for meaningful differentiation than in the case of the Groupon-type services but the rush to be one of the few winners who IPO and damn the customer acquisition costs seem like valid points. These services just seem very niche-y to me. I'm not really the target market but, for any given service, there's a pretty narrow profile of cost-sensitivity, interest in prepping/cooking but…
> Finally, if there were a real clamor for meal kits, what's to keep Whole Foods or whoever from just assembling their own meal kits? Home delivery seems to be one of the key factors, so as long as Whole Foods/etc can offer home delivery, then yeah there's nothing stopping them.
> so as long as Whole Foods/etc can offer home delivery, then yeah there's nothing stopping them
If only a company with a battle tested home delivery network would acquire them...
Re: A Slow-Motion Trainwreck Facing the Meal-Kit Industry
#6Switching is different in this business though. In the group deal business, as a customer you're buying individual deals all the time. As soon as not-Groupon has a better deal than Groupon, you switch.
In meal-kit business, you're a subscriber of one service. Switching to a new one means entering all your info again, choosing from the list of options, and waiting for the kits to start shipping to you.
Re: A Slow-Motion Trainwreck Facing the Meal-Kit Industry
#7It seems that there's more potential for meaningful differentiation than in the case of the Groupon-type services but the rush to be one of the few winners who IPO and damn the customer acquisition costs seem like valid points. These services just seem very niche-y to me. I'm not really the target market but, for any given service, there's a pretty narrow profile of cost-sensitivity, interest in prepping/cooking but…
I agree. It seems like these will eventually lose to just normal automated grocery delivery. You will always need other food than just the kits even if they are cost competitive in NYC, etc.
It's not just acquiring the ingredients; there's value in having someone else plan the menu for you. Deciding what to cook can be a challenge! I host an ~8 person dinner party roughly once a week, and it is not unusual for me to spend as much time digging through recipes, trying to decide what to cook, as I put into actually preparing the meal.
Yes, of course you need other groceries beyond the meal kit itself, but that's not the point - the point is that you've paid the meal service to deal with all the boring parts of the process, which often includes the decision-making, so you can just enjoy the cooking and eating.
Re: A Slow-Motion Trainwreck Facing the Meal-Kit Industry
#8It seems that there's more potential for meaningful differentiation than in the case of the Groupon-type services but the rush to be one of the few winners who IPO and damn the customer acquisition costs seem like valid points. These services just seem very niche-y to me. I'm not really the target market but, for any given service, there's a pretty narrow profile of cost-sensitivity, interest in prepping/cooking but…
Kroger is trialing meal kits. CEO sounded positive on the quarterly phone call.
http://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinna...
Edit: Disclosure -- I own a small amount of Kroger stock.
Re: A Slow-Motion Trainwreck Facing the Meal-Kit Industry
#9It seems that there's more potential for meaningful differentiation than in the case of the Groupon-type services but the rush to be one of the few winners who IPO and damn the customer acquisition costs seem like valid points. These services just seem very niche-y to me. I'm not really the target market but, for any given service, there's a pretty narrow profile of cost-sensitivity, interest in prepping/cooking but…
> Finally, if there were a real clamor for meal kits, what's to keep Whole Foods or whoever from just assembling their own meal kits? Home delivery seems to be one of the key factors, so as long as Whole Foods/etc can offer home delivery, then yeah there's nothing stopping them.
Which even leaving Amazon out of the picture for now, people can often get today either directly or through Instacart. Services like Blue Apron are admittedly somewhat lower friction though.
I do think there's some market for urban stores that people walk to carrying this type of product. And I've seen at least one example.
Re: A Slow-Motion Trainwreck Facing the Meal-Kit Industry
#10I 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 preferences, possibly without you even having to explicitly ask or remind her.
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 mean, this seems like the worst of all worlds. Someone else decides what you will be eating and you have to do the cooking. I can't imagine buying this.