What Is A Meal Kit & How Do They Work?
Meal kits have exploded in popularity over the last decade, making them a mainstream service. With all this talk about what meal kits are, how they work, what the best companies for meal kits are and how to choose a good one, we’ve created this complete guide to help you navigate the world of meal kits.
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What Is a Meal Kit?
A meal kit is a subscription service or one-time purchase that delivers pre-portioned ingredients and recipes to your door, so you cook the meal yourself. Unlike fully-prepared meal delivery, meal kits require you to do the cooking, while removing the menu planning and grocery shopping.
The meal kit business model started in Denmark, with early services dating back to 2003. Companies like Mad til Døren and RetNemt led the way, showing how convenient home-delivered ingredients could revolutionize cooking.
As of 2024, the global meal kit delivery market has reached an estimated $25 billion in value, and industry experts project it will exceed $30 billion by 2025. Ongoing trends include expanded dietary options, faster shipping, and more flexible customization features, reflecting the market’s continued growth.
How Do Meal Kits Work?
Most meal kits follow a simple step-by-step process:
- Choose your recipes from a weekly menu
- Select the number of meals and servings
- Follow the provided recipes to cook and enjoy at home
Meal kits save time and reduce food waste, with most recipes taking 20–40 minutes to prepare.
Nonetheless, let’s go through how a typical meal kit delivery service works on a weekly basis, using HelloFresh as an example.
Step 1: Choose Your Meals
The first step is where the fun starts…choosing what you want to eat. There are so many new, delicious recipes every single week! Most meal kits will offer 2-5 meals with portion sizes for either 2-4 people. This makes them ideal for families, couples, or people who just want an extra portion.
There are also tons of meal kit services that can cater to your specific dietary needs. Whether you’re keto, gluten-free, vegan or vegetarian, there’s an option out there for you!
Once you’ve selected a plan that suits your lifestyle, you can choose shipping options to ensure that you’re home to receive the box.
You can also pause, skip, or cancel your subscription at any time.
Step 2: Receive Your First Box
A chilled, insulated box of high-quality ingredients arrives at your door. If you aren’t home when the delivery arrives, don’t worry! Each box is carefully packaged with insulation and ice packs to ensure that your food won’t spoil for 6-8 hours.
Once you’ve taken your box inside and opened it you’ll find several things:
- All the pre-portioned vegetables, sauces, and proteins
- A nice easy-to-follow recipe with high-quality images (just to make sure you’re on the right track)
One thing I’ll note is that meal boxes assume you have basic cooking ingredients such as oil, butter, salt, and pepper. They also assume you have some pots or pans and appropriate kitchen utensils, so these won’t be found in your meal kit.
Step 3: Cook A Meal
Here’s where the exciting part truly begins. For anyone out there that’s a kitchen newbie, myself included, the cooking process is incredibly simple and to the point where I feel comfortable having my daughter cook all our meals as I supervise.
This week, Warm Mexican-Style Bean Bowls are on the menu and I couldn’t be more excited!
Step 4: Time to Eat!
After you’ve put together the recipe, it’s time to enjoy this delicious food. I put on my favorite television show, resist my cat trying to steal a bean, and relish in my tasty feast.
Which Meal Kit Is the Most Popular?
1. HelloFresh
HelloFresh (SEHK: HFG) is rated highly by Consumer Reports, citing fresh ingredients and easy-to-follow recipes. They have one of the best meal plans in the industry with new weekly recipes allowing picky eaters to find something they’ll like.
While they don’t have tons of plant-based recipes for our vegan friends, they have plenty of vegetarian options, many of which are naturally vegan or require minimal swap-outs at home.
One additional thing that I love about HelloFresh is its commitment to the environment. They offset 100% of their greenhouse gas emissions in addition to innovating on the ways they package their ingredients to make them more sustainable!
Delivery: Canada and the United States
HelloFresh
$11.49Per Serving
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2. Chefs Plate
If HelloFresh is the gold standard for meal kit delivery services, Chefs Plate is the platinum standard. This meal kit company’s budget-friendly pricing structure and versatility make it great.
Each month they have 22 new recipes with options that take as little as 15 minutes to make. Additionally, they consistently bring back customer favorites and have the option to add additional appetizers or salads. This system ensures that you’ll always have delicious food delivered straight to your door.
Lastly, they also have an app that allows you to easily manage your subscription making them one of the most convenient and straightforward meal kits on the market right now.
Delivery: Only Canada
Chefs Plate
$8.99Per Serving
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