Study reveals growth of meal kits not slowing down
Last year, in-store meal kit users jumped by 2.2 million households in less than a year, accounting for 60% of growth in meal kit users.
Over the past year, a deluge of acquisition and collaboration deals between meal kit manufacturers and retailers has created a groundswell of media conversation, consumer awareness and retail distribution points for meal kit offerings. And, according to the latest data from Nielsen, Chicago, 187 new meal kit items were introduced within in-store retail outlets alone during the 52 weeks ended Dec. 29, 2018. But, as more and more meal kits come to market, is consumer demand keeping pace?
Data shows that consumer demand in meal kits is strong. In fact, meal kit users have increased 36% over the past year, and panel data shows that 14.3 million households purchased meal kits in the last six months of 2018, reflecting a marked increase of 3.8 million households from the end of 2017. And, 23% of American households say they would consider purchasing a meal kit within the next six months.
Last year, as more and more meal kits providers made their way into brick-and-mortar stores, sales of in-store full meal kit offerings garnered $93 million over the 52-week period ending Dec. 29, 2018. At the same time, in-store meal kit users jumped by 2.2 million households in less than a year, accounting for 60% of growth in meal kit users. While the majority of meal kit sales did still occur online in 2018, growth occurred both exclusively in-store exclusive and within the combined online/offline space.