<p>By: Rick Stein, Vice President, Fresh Foods, Food Marketing Institute<br /> <img src="https://www.fmi.org/images/default-source/blog-images/mutlicooker.tmb-large-350-.jpg?sfvrsn=6fc6426e_1" data-displaymode="Thumbnail" alt="Multicooker" title="Multicooker" style="float: right; margin: 10px;" /></p> <p>Together, meal kits and multicookers could provide food retailers with their next great sales growth.</p> <p>While meal kit online sales continue to grow, some e-commerce providers have begun to struggle a bit and it&rsquo;s becoming clear that the traditional brick-and-mortar store may be one of the best places for consumers to purchase them.</p> <p>Simultaneously, the world is quickly falling in love with multicookers. A multicooker is an electric all-in-one high-speed blender, steamer, pressure cooker, slow cooker, mixer, food processor, digital scale and sometimes a few other things.</p> <p>According to market research firm <a href="https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/press-releases/2017/all-i-want-for-christmas-is-a-multi-cooker/">NPD Group</a>, in the 12 months before the December 2017 holiday season, U.S. shoppers spent nearly $380 million on multicookers. That is up from just over $100 million two years earlier. The U.S. sales of multicookers has more than doubled in 2017 to nearly $400 million.</p> <p>The best known multicooker is the Instant Pot, made by the privately held Double Insight, which doesn&rsquo;t release sales figures. However, Double Insight&rsquo;s Facebook page has 1.3 million followers and in 2017 Instant Pot was the most-gifted item on Amazon&rsquo;s wedding registry. See more sales details <a href="https://qz.com/quartzy/1217661/instant-pots-exponential-growth-in-one-chart/">here.</a></p> <p>Meanwhile, a handy meal-kit guide and research prepared by <a href="http://go.nielsen.com/meal_kit_guide">Nielsen</a> indicates spending on meal kits is growing three times faster than all the other channel options available to consumers - groceries, restaurants and convenience stores, among them.</p> <p>Industry leaders <a href="https://investors.blueapron.com/~/media/Files/B/BlueApron-IR/press-release/q4-earnings-press-release.pdf">Blue Apron</a> and <a href="http://ir.hellofreshgroup.com/websites/hellofresh/English/3100/annual-report.html">HelloFresh</a> generated $1.5 million in online sales in 2017, up from $1.1 billion the year before. But, as the consumer appeal for meal kits ramps up, the e-commerce companies that sell them are running into logistical challenges that can cut deeply into revenue and profit, challenges that brick-and-mortar stores may be able to manage more effectively.</p> <p>In-store sales of meal kits generated $154.6 million in sales last year, up 26 percent over 2016.</p> <p>Food retailers who have already seen the potential include <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilstern/2018/05/23/kroger-buys-home-chef-as-the-meal-kit-industry-rapidly-consolidates/#4abf40e51dc1">Kroger</a>, which in May paid $200 million (along with potentially $500 million in incentives) for Home Chef. By then, Albertson&rsquo;s had acquired Plated and Blue Apron had started selling meal kits in Costco stores. Ahold-Delhaize has also recently partnered with HelloFresh to offer in-store meal kits.</p> <p>There are at least three reasons why brick-and-mortar stores could successfully compete with online meal kit companies.</p> <ul> <li>First is their ability to offer shoppers fresher products. Online kit makers have to worry about how long fresh products may sit in back rooms, in transit or in shoppers&rsquo; kitchens before they get around to cooking with them. Brick-and-mortar retailers also can put fresh ingredients into their kits that those who ship from a distance have found don&rsquo;t work. Think eggs, for instance, or fruits and vegetables that bruise easily.</li> <li>Second, it allows consumers to make the last-minute decisions they want about dinner. Sometimes that shrimp remoulade that looked delicious online on Sunday doesn&rsquo;t really fit your mood when Wednesday rolls around.</li> <li>Finally&mdash;and this is where the multicooker comes in&mdash;the technology it brings to the kitchen gives the home cook the opportunity to make so many more complex dishes, more quickly and easily.</li> </ul> <p><a href="http://go.nielsen.com/meal_kit_guide">Nielsen&rsquo;s research</a> found that 26 percent of meal kit buyers identify themselves as &ldquo;gourmet cooks,&rdquo; compared to only 16 percent of all U.S. consumers.</p> <p><a href="https://www.moreshelfspace.org/">FMI Emerge</a> Mentor Meg Barnhart, founder of Yogini dba <a href="https://www.thezenofslowcooking.com/">the zen of slow cooking</a> has been in step with the slow cooker surge and has been award-winning in creating an interesting line of spice packages for slow cooking. Their single-use spice packets focus on helping the home cook find more meal solutions for easy to prepare home cooked meals with spice blends.&nbsp; Flavors include: Coq au Vin, Daube Proven&ccedil;ale, Indian Dal, Mediterranean, Moroccan Tagine, Mulling Spices Double Pouch, Sichuan Blend, Smoky BBQ, Southwest Fiesta, and Sweet and Spicy.</p> <p>As FMI promotes the value of home cooked meals and preps for <a href="https://www.fmi.org/family-meals-month">National Family Meals Month</a>&trade; in September, what do you think a happy marriage between the meal kit and the multicooker could do for food retail?</p> <em><span style="font-size: 9px;">Photo Credit:&nbsp;<a href="https://morguefile.com/photos/morguefile/1/slow%20cooker/pop">auttiedot</a></span></em>