
Albertsons snaps up meal kit startup Plated - leekyle333
https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/20/albertsons-snaps-up-meal-kit-startup-plated/
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fernly
Plated should be able to lower costs by participating in Albertson/Safeway's
purchasing system. Everything that they pack in a meal kit is also an SKU for
a grocery store.

Then, there's lovely marketing synergy. On the one side, people going through
the store looking for the stuff they need to cook for dinner, are going to see
how "oh, I could have all this packaged up for me and sent to my door and I
wouldn't have to futz with this list."

While on the other side, people who are stopping by the store to pick up their
Plated box -- which they would be incented to do because the subscription
price would be lower for that mode -- will take a few extra seconds to buy a
bottle of wine or a dessert to go with it.

~~~
jhbadger
But one issue is that the _quantity_ might not be a sellable SKU. Quite often
in Blue Apron, I'll get a tiny amount of say, smoked paprika. A grocery store
would sell that in a container containing many servings probably costing
$5-$10.

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WheelsAtLarge
This is just the start. Eventually all supermarket companies will buy a meal
kit company.

~~~
ethbro
Curious what the value proposition would be. I mean, I can see delivery + pre-
existing logistics network. Or selling better kits in stores. Or a segue to
delivered groceries.

But it seems kind of antithetical to how grocery stores make money. They're
low margin, high volume businesses. And this directly attacks volume.

Buying a grocery delivery startup seems like it would make way more sense as a
first step.

~~~
Nition
One of the major national supermarkets here does delivery[1]. There's also a
cheaper option where you can pick up but they do the shopping for you, so you
can just stop by and get your cart. Both are actually a really nice service
and good value for the time you save too, but I'm not sure how popular it
actually is.

You do miss out on being able to select your own fruit, meat etc, but they did
a good job the couple of times we've tried it. Occasionally something you
ordered isn't actually in stock, and you can choose whether you'll let them
sub it out or just no include it. The ordering is per-supermarket to minimise
that happening - every store has a slightly different online selection to
match what they should actually have.

There's no competition here either though. If there are any other grocery
delivery options around, I haven't heard of them.

[1] [https://shop.countdown.co.nz](https://shop.countdown.co.nz)

~~~
toomanybeersies
New World is starting to roll out grocery delivery, they're trialing it in a
couple of stores in Auckland.

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KGIII
NZ is a bit smaller than Colorado. I'd expect it to be easier to service. It
makes me wonder why it hasn't already caught on? I know it's popular/common in
some parts of Europe, and that it has been for a while.

~~~
toomanybeersies
I think it's just that everyone is close enough to a supermarket, it's easy
enough to just go there on the way back from work, or just pop to the
supermarket. It's not worth paying to get someone to do the groceries for you.

I don't think I've ever lived further than a 15 minute walk from a
supermarket.

~~~
KGIII
I think that's also true in Europe. I've never lived in the UK, for example,
but I've stayed there for six months while working. Food delivery was very
common in London.

At the time, there was no web interface and you had to make a phone call.
Still, it was pretty common.

Curiously, when I was really young (1960s America), I remember a grocery store
that delivered to our house. We even had a diaper delivery/disposal service,
but I digress. I'm not sure if it was a local thing, nor am I sure when it
stopped. I do know that it existed in two different localities, because we
moved a lot. (Military family.) I'm pretty sure it wasn't always just a
grocery list, but that they had meals that came with a recipe card and the
ingredients. The recipe cards still existed when my mother passed away. I have
no idea if they still exist. I suspect not.

So, at one point, it was at least in use and then fell out of fashion. Now,
it's coming around again.

Anyhow, thanks for the info. It seems to be gaining in popularity. Maybe
there's room for you to get in on the ground floor and make some money.

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digikata
I think the disconnect to be bridged here is the quality expectations between
a meal kit ingredients, and just picking up ingredients at the supermarket
yourself. I don't think the kits coming out of just reassembling the existing
inventory a many supermarkets would quite be as attractive unless some
additional logistics are added to make higher quality ingredients available.

~~~
vlahmot
I've only used BlueApron and HelloFresh but the quality of the ingredients has
been comparable to stuff picked up at Safeway.

The real value for me besides time saved (and the insane coupons/free meals)
is using ingredients that I wouldn't have otherwise picked up. I'll just grab
button mushrooms most of the time but getting some different variety is nice.

I also usually grab the store brand meat because its cheaper. It's not like
the grass fed organic whatever isn't there, I just usually won't pick it up.

~~~
rdlecler1
I’ve been subscribing to Blue Apron for about six weeks. Really enjoy it. It’s
cut down on our food waste, healthier portioning (I love about 9 pounds) and
I’m getting more diversity in my diet. Pre-planning your meals and grocery
shopping takes a lot of time and mental work. This kind of cook-by-numbers
approach takes away a lot of mental resistance that has you eating out more
often. Plus, I’m learning a lot.

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foolfoolz
maybe just me, I don't see meal kits going away but I think they are niche and
temporary subscriptions at best. people are paying for convenience. an
obligation to making a big dinner is not convenient

if they were much cheaper, and give you more choice on what says its active,
and faster activation turnaround (maybe at 3pm I decide if I want the dinner
kit for tonight) then it might make more sense.

I do not buy the "young people don't know how to shop and need us" argument.
sounds like a forced effort to get the word millennial in your message

~~~
tclancy
>an obligation to making a big dinner is not convenient

As someone who likes to cook (and has test-driven 3 or 4 of these services), I
don't see them as that at all. Blue Apron, et al are paint-by-number compared
to actually cooking from a normal recipe where you have to measure and prep. I
liked having them as an option, but they didn't scratch my "cooking" itch at
all. They were more like a convenient way to put a decent, healthier dinner on
the table in almost the same time you could do Hamburger Helper or some frozen
bag meal.

~~~
fotbr
There's no way I'm doing a subscription.

I'm open to trying new things, and regularly do when I'm traveling, but at the
end of the day I'm a midwestern, meat and potatoes type of person.

I've yet to see one of these services that would work for me without feeling
like I'm wasting my money more often than not.

I'd LOVE to have a paint-by-number, better than hamburger helper, set of
options I can pick up from the grocery store on the way home. Give me a
rotating choice of two or three meal kits as a regularly stocked, non-
subscription item, and I'd be thrilled. I'm sure there would be some I'd
really enjoy, some I'd like to try, and others I'd avoid.

~~~
pbreit
Dinnerly is $6/portion and pretty basic.

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huac
Did CS broker on behalf of Plated or Albertsons?

