The shape of meals to come

Industry experts agree that meal kits don’t suit everyone – but will continue to fill a need into the future. In fact, Technomic, a consulting and research firm, predicts meal-kit subscription revenue worldwide will top $10 billion by 2020.

Meal kits aim to provide a time-saving alternative to traditional grocery shopping and expose consumers to more recipes – but they have also been criticised for their excessive use of packaging, their cost, and the time it takes to prepare the meals.

The sector’s main competitor, the prepared meals market, is now a $600 million industry here in Australia, according to IBISWorld, driven by rising health consciousness and the demands of time-poor consumers, and those who live alone.

While online grocery retail is still relatively small in Australia (accounting for approximately two per cent of total grocery sales), it is estimated by IBISWorld to be worth at least $3.1 billion after growing by about 14 per cent a year for the last few years.

Grocery e-commence is predicted to inject up to $2 billion in incremental sales into the Australian market in the next five years, says Nielson Australia.