Meal kits now $ 120M industry in Canada
Cheaper than meals out and a way to learn how to cook, say fans
Matthew Richardson decided it was time to change his cooking habits.
After moving in with his girlfriend this summer, Richardson, 36, figured they should stop their frequent eating out and prepare their own meals at home.
But he didn’t know where to start. Elaborate recipes felt intimidating and he had no clue where to look for easy, healthy food.
“She’s a vegetarian, I am not,” says Richardson, who lives in Saint John, N. B.
“I was looking for ways to learn some recipes, and figure out how to prepare things I don’t know how to prepare.”
So he turned to home- delivered meal kits, a phenomenon that has quickly grown into a $ 120- million industry in Canada, says market research company NPD Group.
Meal- kit companies offer consumers a menu of ready- to- prepare dishes marketed as easy to make, healthy and delicious. Ingredients arrive pre- portioned with a recipe to follow.
Meal kits started in Sweden, says Robert Carter of NPD Group, and has spread globally over the last five years. The industry has roughly doubled in Canada since 2014.
He said meal kits are “one of the fastest- growing food segments in the Canadian marketplace.”
On a friend’s recommendation, Richardson signed up for Goodfood, founded in Montreal in 2015. The largest family- sized meal- kit boxes start at $ 8.75 per person per meal and recent options have included whisky- rubbed pork chop with scalloped potatoes, lentil stew with sweet potatoes, and acorn squash tacos.
One of Richardson’s favourite meals — quinoa- stuffed peppers — arrived boxed with portions of poblano peppers, corn, spinach, cilantro, quinoa, cheese, tomatoes, an onion, panko crumbs and a spice blend. It took Richardson and his girlfriend about 45 minutes to make.
For Jayne Zhou, an HR co- ordinator in Vancouver who’s been on maternity leave since early in the year, meal kits have made life simpler.
She says it took some trial and error to figure out how much food to order for her family of four. She started getting weekly meals delivered but found food was wasted if her family went out to dinner.
They now order meals for two p every other week. Zhou says she loves that as a “newbie cook,” she’s built confidence in the kitchen.
“We had ginger pork meatballs and I was like: ‘ That wasn’t too hard, maybe I’ll be able to make this recipe again,”’ she says.
Richardson also believes his chops have improved. In the fall, a few months after starting meal kits, he visited his family’s farm in Nova Scotia and picked chanterelle mushrooms to make a risotto.
“A year ago, I wouldn’t even consider making a risotto,” he says. “It would seem like this huge, intimidating task. It definitely gave me more confidence, to go out and try dishes that I normally would be like, ‘ That’s something that somebody who’s a professional would make.”’
Both Zhou and Richardson say meal kits are cheaper than ordering in or going to a restaurant but more expensive than doing their own grocery shopping.
Graham McDonnell, a stylist from Dartmouth, N. S., was lured by the convenience, but has gone back to grocery shopping.
He and his partner used to throw away a lot of food since they didn’t plan properly. Now they’re big on meal planning.
“If you take the time to plan your meals and not overshop ... you can kind of organize ( a meal- kit type experience) yourself,” McDonnell says.
While meal- kit companies use buzzwords like “farm- fresh,” “sustainable,” and “antibiotic- and hormonefree,” one nutritionist says it’s too early to assess the health benefits given few real studies have been done. But University of Guelph professor Jess Haines sees the appeal, particularly for people who don’t have time to shop. And some meal kits “appear to have very healthful options,” Haines says.
Richardson and his girlfriend decided to try some other companies. He heard others swear by Toronto- based Chefs Plate but found the ingredients a little less fresh than he was used to. He liked German company HelloFresh but found the vegetarian options lacking.
The couple continues to try meal kits from new companies, especially since social media ads targeted to them are often offering a few free meals.
“Apparently I’m looking at these things enough that advertisers know that’s what I’m into,” he says.