Daniel Uzice, MSc Design & Innovation, Bord Bia – Irish Food Board
Convenience is still king. But convenience has gone far beyond the traditional ready meal for those who lack time to cook or the yogurt pot complete with granola and utensils for the consumer on the go. These days (particularly in the UK), the rage is all about meal kits! While they have yet to really resonate or gain a foothold in the Irish market, meal kits have become a sort of phenomenon that fulfills a number of constrained consumer needs. Looking at the Bord Bia Periscope study on the Irish and UK markets, it reveals that 34% of British consumers are only capable of cooking a basic meal (meat and three veg) or a snack. Similarly, Hello Fresh commissioned research came to a similar conclusion showing one in four British people could only cook three recipes from scratch.
For those of you that are unfamiliar with these kits, you can read up on some of the meal kit subscription services to gain an understanding of their bespoke offerings. Meal kit subscription services such as Hello Fresh and Gousto particularly appeal to time-pressured young families while shopper interest is driven by experimentation and convenience. Younger shoppers are also very used to subscription-based services through a range of different nonfood categories (IGD, 2016).
Meal kits appeal to consumers as they inspire them to create new and exciting recipes while removing the pain of sourcing all the ingredients. In other words, meals kits provide you with a solution that covers the bare necessities to cook a homemade meal. Everything from proteins to veg to spices are portioned so you (the shopper) do not have to buy more than you need! Many of the lifestyle trends tie in with the meal kit concept including  Health and Wellbeing, Exciting Experiences; and .
Interestingly, Waitrose has launched its own line of recipe boxes while Morrison’s recently announced its plans to launch in the space to take on Hello Fresh in the UK.
