Home Delivery of Ready-to-Eat Meals in America 

Updated November 6, 2023

Trends in the Meal Kit Industry in the USA updated to 2023

Meal Kits and ready-to-eat meals are a solution born within the food industry that has carved out a significant market niche ($8.8 billion). In the past year, one in four American consumers has purchased a meal kit, and the repurchase rate was 70% [Source: Nielsen]. Indeed, the revenue of this sector in the USA is steadily increasing: by 2027, an additional growth of +34% to $11.8 billion is expected [Source: Statista Digital Market Insights].

The demand for Meal Kits in America is supported by the restaurant-at-home trend, which is fueled by the rising cost of living and the premiumization of food tastes. The result of these two phenomena has been an increase in premium offerings in a retail context. Other motivations for purchasing meal kits and ready-to-eat meals include saving time, the desire for healthier eating, the intention to reduce waste, discovering new recipes, and the opportunity to learn how to cook.

In America, there is a Meal Kit for every budget, diet, level of appetite, or cooking skill

The variety of meal kit offerings in the U.S. market meets the needs of everyone, particularly those of Millennials and consequently the Alpha generation, who will one day eat and consume like their parents. More than anyone, Millennials are looking for healthy food options with a good value for money and are increasingly trying to shop in line with their vision of sustainability and social responsibility: thus, they favor local, natural, plant-based, and if possible, zero-waste ingredients. 

Even Gen Z consumers are the ideal clients for these businesses because they eat out less and because their food product purchasing behavior is based on discovery and pleasure.

In short, it is fair to say that there is a Meal Kit for every budget, diet, level of appetite, or cooking skill.

Here are some of the most well-known companies delivering Meal Kits and ready-to-eat meals in America: HelloFresh, Blue Apron, Green Chef, Factor 75, EveryPlate, Home Chef, Gobble, and Purple Carrot. The mentioned players make deliveries starting from $4 up to $14-15 per meal and have carved out their niche by being able to listen to consumer needs to always offer suitable solutions. Browsing various sites, you'll find meal kits suitable for practically any diet (keto, vegan, flexitarian, vegetarian, kosher, protein, low carb...), with limited preparation times or limited to the microwave timer, wine pairing services, and even personalized meal plans.

Originally published on February 18, 2019

Driven by Millennials, the ready-to-eat meal delivery industry in America is worth $1.5 billion. And it only works online

The importance of a mobile site and the internet to influence purchasing choices and sell in America: For many Americans, the thought of preparing a meal at the end of the day is disheartening. In the last five years, the concept of meal kit, a planned meal, already portioned and delivered fresh to your doorstep, has taken hold.

An increasing focus on healthy foods combines with the constant search for something new: American tastes in food are changing, driven by Millennials' preferences for fresh and natural, organic, and “minimally processed” foods as well as functional foods. Millennials have played a key role in changing purchasing behaviors in America by turning to their smartphones at every opportunity to decide what to do and how to do it and what to buy, and smart (and successful) brands are there to help them in that moment.

To understand what is right to eat and to make a choice tailored to one's needs, one often turns to the internet, especially to increase one's knowledge on the subject. There is a growing interest among American consumers in the role that specific types of food play for health or those defined as functional foods.

HelloFresh and Blue Apron (and many others) have given a twist to the meal preparation moment and the choice of “ready-to-eat meals” in major cities in America: both offer a home meal delivery service that includes both omnivorous and vegetarian options, providing fresh ingredients and recipes inspired by chefs, still in a convenient manner ($9.99 per meal).

15% of consumers of these particular foods use home meal delivery apps (from the report “Today’s Specialty Food Consumer,” 2016), up to 23% among Millennials. In America, home meal delivery is an industry worth $1.5 billion (Blue Apron alone sells 8 million ready-to-eat meals per month in the USA), and the kits aim to offer more genuine solutions and less processed products: the fact that they are convenient is an incentive to purchase and gives the consumer the opportunity to prepare meals without making significant efforts.

The appeal of these services is that they allow the consumer to practice new techniques and ways of cooking, making them feel like chefs in their own kitchen. The service takes the burden of choosing which meal to prepare, deciding on the ingredients, and picking them up, while providing the relief of knowing that what they are eating is healthy. The only thing to do is follow the recipe step by step.