HelloFresh Expands Offerings to Retail, Sells Meal Kits in Giant Food, Stop & Shop, and More
NEW YORK, NY - Retailers and meal kit companies go hand-in-hand these days, after a series of partnership announcements by Blue Apron and Costco, Albertsons and Plated, and Kroger and Home Chef showcased a new strategy to engage with consumers. Now HelloFresh is entering the fray in the widest retail launch yet. According to Wall Street Journal, HelloFresh meal kits will be on sale this week in almost 600 Giant Food and Stop & Shop stores, both owned by Ahold Delhaize.
“It’s for customers that don’t have the ability to preplan as much. We think this is an offering that is very complementary,” said HelloFresh Chief Executive Officer Dominik Richter in an interview with WSJ. “Retailers are looking for the right partner to make the economics work. This is still a quickly-growing category.”
Richter also noted, that while online subscriptions will continue to drive sales, retail placement will help the company find new customers and expand its reach. According to Nielsen, subscriptions drive the majority of meal-kit sales, but in-store purchases increased 27 percent to $155 million in the last year.
“Our retail line reduces the pressure on grocers to create these meals themselves and easily integrates into growing areas of their business such as online grocery and delivery,” said HelloFresh North American President Tobias Hartmann, according to Fortune.
While HelloFresh is only offering its meal kits to Giant Foods and Stop & Shop stores on the East Coast where consumers have shown a preference for convenient meals, HelloFresh executives also said the company is in talks with other retailers to continue to grow its network.
Who will be the next retailer to pick up a meal kit subscription? AndNowUKnow will continue to report on all the latest in fresh food.
