Meal kits may make cooking easier, but getting a box of pre-portioned ingredients and instructions to a customer’s door is one of the most complicated logistics riddles in the food business, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Companies have poured millions of dollars into solving such questions as how to stack fish and fennel in boxes as the meal kit business model grows in popularity.
They’re also investing in systems to reroute shipments during snowstorms and algorithms to predict what customers want to eat during the summer months.
To help keep a lid on costs, Sun Basket, whose meal kits target health-conscious consumers, has gone so far as to set up a Midwestern distribution center in a converted limestone cave—a cheaper way to keep its products cold than spending millions to convert a conventional warehouse in the region for refrigeration. The temperature inside the underground facility remains stable regardless of whether it’s hot or cold outside, so the company spends less on electricity.
Dozens of meal-kit options are now on the market, but the pressure is growing for Blue Apron Holdings Inc., HelloFresh, Sun Basket and others to show results and turn profits, even as they struggle to gain subscribers and craft a model that keeps foods fresh.
