"The meal kit market is quickly evolving from nearly exclusively online and subscription-​based, home delivery services to on-​demand availability in-​store and online. Consumers are trying out the different ways to purchase meal kits, with over a quarter of recent users purchasing kits both in-​store, including restaurants, and online, finds The NPD Group. While meal kit marketers and meal kit users are experimenting to find the right fit, there is a large group of consumers, 93 million, who have never tried a meal kit but are interested in giving them a try, which points to a market opportunity, according to NPD’s What’s Next for Meal Kits report."

“'There is an untapped market for meal kits and it’s up to meal kit providers and retailers to find out what it will take to get a potential meal kit user to become one,' says Darren Seifer, NPD food industry analyst. 'The subscription model is likely to remain relevant, but it’s important to remember consumers are looking for meal solutions both online and in stores.'” 

"A good start to reaching those interested in trying meal kits is knowing who typically uses meal kits. Meal kit users are more likely to be millennials, have households with kids, and higher incomes. Online and in-​store meal kits appeal to similar demographic groups although in-​store kits skew to households with children less than 13 years old and higher income levels."

Time-​pressed Prepared Supermarket Meal Shoppers could also be influenced to give meal kits a try as another option for quicker, healthier food options. According to AudienceSCAN, 39.1% of Prepared Meal Shoppers want to eat healthier this year and 22% would like to try new cooking recipes. Those goals are even easier to accomplish when all the ingredients are already gathered and measured. Of these shoppers, 24.7% are willing to pay more for healthy or organic food products. And they'll do their research to make sure they're getting exactly what they want. Within the last month, 39.1% used a search engine to research a product they were considering.

“'Meal kits are here for the long-​term because they’re meeting the needs of consumers by providing a level of convenience and shortcuts to meal prep while also providing fresh foods,' says Seifer."

“'Meal kit marketers looking to capitalize on providing meal solutions should follow consumers to all their points of purchase.'”

Do you offer meal kits as well as prepared meals? Advertise the benefits of both to Prepared Meal Shoppers digitally! Last year, according to AudienceSCAN, 59% took action after either receiving an ad via text or seeing an ad on their mobile smartphone apps and 57.8% were driven to action by email ads. They're also 51% more likely than other adults to click on text link ads on websites. Traditional ads also work on these consumers, with 70.1% being driven to action by TV commercials last year and 64.3% taking action after receiving direct mail ads in that same amount of time.

AudienceSCAN data is available for your applications and dashboards through the SalesFuel API. Media companies and agencies can access AudienceSCAN data through the AudienceSCAN Reports in AdMall.