Prepared foods
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Meal delivery continues to grow as 'chef-to-consumer' provider nets new funding
New York-based CookUnity, which offers meals prepared by "top culinary talent," has raised $15.5 million in Series A funding as it aims to expand across North America.
By Catherine Douglas Moran • Jan. 14, 2021 -
Giant Food debuts Cook-in-Bag meals
The line, which launched last summer at sister chain The Giant Company, has 14 different meat and seafood entrees that shoppers can cook in their slow cookers or ovens.
By Catherine Douglas Moran • Jan. 12, 2021 -
Prepared meals delivery startup Thistle raises $10.3M
The plant-based meal delivery company plans to use the funding round to expand to the East Coast.
By Rosie Bradbury • Jan. 06, 2021 -
Blue Apron names new CFO
Randy Greben, who most recently served as CFO at Ann Taylor, aims to help the financially challenged meal kit company achieve profitability long-term.
By Jane Thier • Jan. 06, 2021 -
Column
Pardon the Disruption: 2021 will be a critical year for supermarkets
They've benefited from one-stop shopping, but the same structural and competitive forces that rattled them pre-pandemic are still lurking.
By Jeff Wells • Dec. 21, 2020 -
Freshly launches new lower-carb product line
The new meals target a growing nutrition trend as consumer interest in healthy, active lifestyles has increased during the pandemic.
By Catherine Douglas Moran • Dec. 16, 2020 -
Blue Apron rolls out 'holistic wellness' campaign to sustain at-home cooking trend
The meal-kit maker is using "Wellness 360" to roll out new menu offerings and recipes with less prep time, along with promoting several partnerships including ones with Disney+ and WW.
By Catherine Douglas Moran • Dec. 15, 2020 -
HelloFresh boosts revenue forecast as it prepares to double production capacity
The German meal-kit maker has raised revenue projections for 2020 and plans to bring U.S. brands to customers in other countries.
By Sam Silverstein • Dec. 14, 2020 -
Amazon bans 'chemicals of concern' from its Amazon Kitchen brand
The retailer is asking suppliers to phase out substances like PFAS and phthalates that have been linked to negative health and environmental impacts.
By Rosie Bradbury • Dec. 09, 2020 -
Walmart gets an extra branding shot for its automated smoothie pilot
The first co-branded Jamba by Blendid kiosk debuted Wednesday in Dixon, California, furthering the retailer's foray into autonomous technology.
By Catherine Douglas Moran • Dec. 03, 2020 -
Albertsons rolls out flash-frozen skillet meals
The company is introducing the Open Nature line, which features dishes like shrimp scampi with pasta and chicken tikka masala, as it pivots toward store brand meal solutions.
By Rosie Bradbury • Nov. 25, 2020 -
HelloFresh acquires ready-to-eat meal company Factor75
The combination brings the fast-growing German meal-kit maker additional facilities in the United States, home to half of its customers.
By Sam Silverstein • Nov. 24, 2020 -
Kroger-owned Home Chef beefs up product lines, promo deals
New soup and pizza offerings along with a partnership with NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming service have positioned the meal kit company for growth.
By Rosie Bradbury • Nov. 13, 2020 -
HelloFresh posts record Q3 as it hits 5M active customers for the first time
The German meal kit company also saw its revenue and order volume surge as at-home eating accelerated during the pandemic.
By Sam Silverstein • Nov. 04, 2020 -
Inside the store: Wegmans' new location in Tysons, Virginia
The 80,000-square-foot supermarket on the campus of banking giant Capital One features a smaller, urban concept with prepared foods as the focal point.
By Catherine Douglas Moran • Nov. 04, 2020 -
Nestlé buys Freshly, valuing meal delivery firm at $950M
The world's largest food manufacturer, which purchased a stake in the upstart in 2017, can bring its deep knowledge of customer trends, R&D capability and portfolio of brands to the meal kit delivery business.
By Christopher Doering • Oct. 30, 2020 -
Q&A
Q&A: How Freshly is scaling to meet prepared meal delivery demand
The company's new warehouse in Southern California is part of a strategy that includes doubling capacity and tripling product offerings next year, according to Mike Wystrach, co-founder and CEO.
By Catherine Douglas Moran • Oct. 28, 2020 -
Deep Dive
4 mealtime innovations that picked up during the pandemic
Retailers like Barons Market, The Giant Company and Hy-Vee are helping customers solve the age-old dilemma of what to make for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
By Jessica Dumont • Oct. 28, 2020 -
Fast-casual salad franchise opens at The Giant Company
Saladworks already has several locations in other grocery stores, including ShopRite, and has plans for at least 10 more by early next year.
By Jessica Dumont • Oct. 23, 2020 -
Kroger brings ghost kitchens inside stores
The grocer opened a delivery and pickup-only restaurant inside an Indiana location on Thursday and will open a second facility in Ohio next month.
By Catherine Douglas Moran • Oct. 08, 2020 -
Foodservice managers can capitalize on meal planning fatigue
As more shoppers meal-prep in advance, a new study from the Food Industry Association found 70% of respondents would be more likely to purchase from retail foodservice if they can order ahead.
By Rosie Bradbury • Oct. 01, 2020 -
How retailers can maximize grab-and-go demand in-store and online
Customization, combo meals and mobile marketing can help grocers hold onto mealtime customers as restaurant sales tick back up, according to new research and retailer input.
By Catherine Douglas Moran • Sept. 28, 2020 -
Consumers are cooking at home more, but some are getting tired of it
While more than a third of shoppers in a recent Acosta survey said they've developed a newfound passion for cooking, 25% said they're losing interest.
By Jessi Devenyns • Sept. 16, 2020 -
The Fresh Market serves up fine dining
The grocer is launching a line of premium meal solutions called Ultimate Dinner Meals, which feed six people and retail for $149.99.
By Krishna Thakker • Aug. 21, 2020 -
From full-service to grocery hybrid: Why 1 restaurant chose to renovate during the pandemic
Cotton Blues Kitchen & Marketplace used the business slowdown to recreate the dining experience with a grocery market, grab-and-go and ready-to-heat items, and a smaller dine-in menu.
By Julie Littman • Aug. 14, 2020