Crunch numbers on meal kits
MEAL kit services are helping households cut down on food waste and spend less time shopping for groceries.
But are the prices people pay for these prepacked boxes of ingredients and recipes worth it?
Meal kits typically cost between $5 and $11 per serve, depending on the provider, so households need to crunch their own numbers before deciding on value.
OzHarvest founder Ronni Kahn said people no longer valued food, with constant supply and low prices making many believe that food was disposable.
“Most food waste occurs before you go shopping,” she said. “Meal kit delivery services are a great way to take the pressure away from meal planning.
“The average household loses up to $3800 a year on wasted food.”
Marley Spoon, which delivered five million meal portions to homes last year, said its customers ranged in age from their 20s to 70s, commonly ordering three times a week. Co-founder and marketing director Dave Malcolm said people who spent less time in supermarkets were less likely to buy impulse items.
“People can increase the number of portions they receive, cook everything and have lunches set for the rest of the week,” he said.
Gourmet Dinner Service and Dietlicious marketing manager Ronia Bourke said people should calculate the time it took to create the same nutritionally balanced meals.
“There is no food waste as all our ingredients are ordered then cooked to create exact portioned meals, following dietitian recommendations,” she said.
Lite n’ Easy head of nutrition Maryl-Ann Marshall said customers had reported saving money by not buying expensive takeaways during the day. “It costs $22 for the breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks plan,” she said.
However, Swinburne University marketing business professor and trend analyst Sean Sands said consumers could still save money buying their own groceries. “To ensure that waste is minimised, it requires planning for meals and shopping more frequently for smaller baskets,” he said. Mr Sands said some poor value for money options led to more than half of all consumers cancelling meal kit subscriptions. “In time I’m sure there’ll be an evolution of this trend,” he said. “I would expect these not to decline but to fragment in their targeting of healthy lifestyles and alternative diets.” Laura Peters, 30, has used HelloFresh “on and off”. “We love not having to think about what to cook each night and having everything delivered to the front door,” she said. “The food is always fresh and has good portion sizes, so it feels like it is good value for money.”
moneysaverHQ.com.au