Kroger letting customers customize Home Chef meals
Kroger is expanding the availability of Home Chef meal kits to 500 more stores nationwide and for the first time offering online customers the option to customize orders, the grocer announced Wednesday.
The nation’s largest supermarket chain acquired the popular meal kit brand last year and put them on shelves in 200 Midwest stores last fall. The expansion will make the meals available from Tennessee to California.
Kroger is the market share leader in Milwaukee and Wisconsin with its Pick ‘n Save, Metro Market and Copps banners. It also operates its namesake stores, as well as Ralphs, Fry’s, Smith’s, King Soopers, QFC and Fred Meyer grocery stores.
Offering digital customers via homechef.com the chance to make changes is an industry first. Customers will now be able to swap, double or upgrade ingredients on their favorite recipes.
A booming niche, meal kits cater to customers looking for a compromise between quality home-cooked meals and out-to-eat convenience. Kroger decided to phase out its house brand of meal kits, Prep+Pared, last fall after acquiring the Chicago business.
The Home Chef meal kits cost between $17 to $20 apiece and serve two people. Home Chef meals can be prepared in about 30-60 minutes, while Home Chef Express meals (introduced last fall) can be made in as little as 15 minutes.
“Home Chef is proud to continue our evolution toward becoming more than a meal kit delivery brand,” said Pat Vihtelic, Home Chef ’s founder and CEO. “With continued innovation and personalization, we are providing customers with more ways to enjoy fresh, delicious meals that align with their individual tastes.”
Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.