Meal kits are becoming a big industry. Technomic predicts that the meal kit market could grow to five billion dollars over the next decade. Blue Apron is the biggest meal kit company in the world as it ships over eight million meals every month. After becoming subscribers, people then go online and choose from recipes Blue Apron provides. After people receive their package, they find a box with all of the ingredients and directions on how to cook it.
There are many benefits to this way of handling dinner. The most important aspect is that meal kits are teaching people how to cook and giving them confidence in their abilities. They also allow people to save time by eliminating the grocery shopping and the searching for those hard to find ingredients. Meal kits also can accommodate different types of diets like organic, vegan, and vegetarian. Lastly, they encourage people to try new foods by giving people the ingredients delivered right to their door, and having very easy to follow instructions.
There are some downsides to meal kits though. These kits are more expensive than traditional grocery shopping, with the average per person meal price around $11.50. Another concern is the nutrition, with critics saying the portions are too big and the food contains too much sodium or fat. The final concern with meal kits is the packaging. Many customers do not like the excessive and wasteful packaging these meal kits come in. There is not a perfect packaging solution yet as the concept of meal kits is very new to the market.
A survey taken by Mintel showed 21% of people have used a meal kit service, while 40% of millennials surveyed have used a meal kit. According to this survey, the this trend is catching on and will continue to grow.
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