5 ms·

I feel like the pre-made meal delivery sector is one where the company that throws the most money into advertising is the one that will win. The market is so sa

I feel like the pre-made meal delivery sector is one where the company that throws the most money into advertising is the one that will win. The market is so saturated. Personally, I'm not a fan. They don't end up being much cheaper than eating out, and by circumstance of being microwavable food in a plastic container, they never plate anywhere near as well as they show the pictures. They will never taste as good as you'd hope either, because microwaved salmon steaks just aren't that good. I actually got some from a local company that does paleo meals, but I just found them to be too expensive for what they are.

puranjay 9y ago
I order a lot of food from my local pre-made meal startup. The food is never particularly good, but it wins out because: 1. They deliver fast. I usually get my food within 20 minutes. 2. They have single-person portions, so there is no food wastage or leftovers. It's honestly nothing that my local restaurant can't do. But somehow, they just haven't wizened up to it.
- prawn 9y ago
  Wouldn't you rather have larger portions so you have leftovers for work the next day?
- lentil_soup 9y ago
  What's the difference with just ordering food from a restaurant to be delivered? Is that not an option in your area?
- fredley 9y ago
  I find it a bit mind-boggling that this is quicker than just going to the supermarket to get the same thing. I'm in the UK, and if you live in a city where pre-made meal startups can deliver within 20 minutes, you can probably walk to a small supermarket within 5-10 to buy essentially the same sort of thing for less money.
  - hammock 9y ago
    Delivery is the added value here
    - denom 9y ago
      With a dash of externalized cultural decoherence. Even if I trusted Nestle's motivations here, which I do not, supporting your local farmers market/grocer/coop is a more ethical way to go.
      - hammock 9y ago
        The chance you have a local farmers market/coop within 5 minute walk from your home/work is pretty slim unless you live/work at a farmers market (or downtown of a city in Vermont).
        denom 9y ago
        Agreed. We've had 75 years of the modernist industrial program, e.g. tearing up trolly lines in favor of cars, or suburbanization as a civil defense initiative (among others). The point is not a quick solution, however the point _is_ to have livable cities focused on the human _first_.
    - fredley 9y ago
      To each their own, but when I'm hungry I'd rather take a 5 minute walk (or get something on the way home) rather than wait 20 minutes and pay more, with a smaller selection. If you live further away from appropriate shops I can see the value though.
- overcast 9y ago
  So the food is trash, and yet you continue to order? Life is too short to eat garbage food. Especially for premium prices.
prawn 9y ago
There are a number of staple dishes (pasta with any number of sauces, curries, stir-fries, etc) that can be cooked easily. I'm surprised no one is driving around in a van with a cook in the back, and delivering just-made meals. No extensive menu, just focus on specific things on particular days. Aim for something decent at a good pricepoint rather than trying to replicate and deliver fancy food that ends up being like microwaved meals.
- dec0dedab0de 9y ago
  I have been saying the same thing for years. The thing is that food trucks can do very well by parking where many people are. They dont need to drive around.
  - graphitezepp 9y ago
    I bet if the driving/parking situation for these larger vans were better in cities we would see them driving around taking orders to people.
    - hammock 9y ago
      Or, you know, staying in one place so they still get the walk-up traffic, but send out delivery guys at the same time to fulfill orders via their app. Wait a minute...this sounds suspiciously like a counterserve restaurant ...
      - koolba 9y ago
        ... but without paying rent or real estate taxes! Welcome to the 3.0 economy where an established business's fixed costs and adherence to zoning laws is another business's profit margin.
        hammock 9y ago
        Try that in Chicago, which is maybe the most pro-restaurant and anti-streetfood city in the country. You can only park your food truck in one of 37 designated spots or cannot be within 200ft of a restaurant, and cannot park in the same location for more than 2 hours at a time (barely enough time to prep/clean).
petra 9y ago
The thing is, home cooking technology is improving, with home combi-ovens the same technology that is used is quality restaurants to reheat quality frozen food and serve as new. So the quality could be there. There's also the new solid-state microwave ovens which may also work well. As for the price vs eating out ? Well, part of this is scale and nestle can make this stuff for cheaper. But also, if this stays fresh for a week, it might fit a distribution channel like a grocers pickup service,which costs a lot less than deliveries, and marketing cost could also go way down.

puranjay 9y ago

I order a lot of food from my local pre-made meal startup. The food is never particularly good, but it wins out because: 1. They deliver fast. I usually get my food within 20 minutes. 2. They have single-person portions, so there is no food wastage or leftovers. It's honestly nothing that my local restaurant can't do. But somehow, they just haven't wizened up to it.

prawn 9y ago
Wouldn't you rather have larger portions so you have leftovers for work the next day?
lentil_soup 9y ago
What's the difference with just ordering food from a restaurant to be delivered? Is that not an option in your area?
fredley 9y ago
I find it a bit mind-boggling that this is quicker than just going to the supermarket to get the same thing. I'm in the UK, and if you live in a city where pre-made meal startups can deliver within 20 minutes, you can probably walk to a small supermarket within 5-10 to buy essentially the same sort of thing for less money.
- hammock 9y ago
  Delivery is the added value here
  - denom 9y ago
    With a dash of externalized cultural decoherence. Even if I trusted Nestle's motivations here, which I do not, supporting your local farmers market/grocer/coop is a more ethical way to go.
    - hammock 9y ago
      The chance you have a local farmers market/coop within 5 minute walk from your home/work is pretty slim unless you live/work at a farmers market (or downtown of a city in Vermont).
      - denom 9y ago
        Agreed. We've had 75 years of the modernist industrial program, e.g. tearing up trolly lines in favor of cars, or suburbanization as a civil defense initiative (among others). The point is not a quick solution, however the point _is_ to have livable cities focused on the human _first_.
  - fredley 9y ago
    To each their own, but when I'm hungry I'd rather take a 5 minute walk (or get something on the way home) rather than wait 20 minutes and pay more, with a smaller selection. If you live further away from appropriate shops I can see the value though.
overcast 9y ago
So the food is trash, and yet you continue to order? Life is too short to eat garbage food. Especially for premium prices.

prawn 9y ago

There are a number of staple dishes (pasta with any number of sauces, curries, stir-fries, etc) that can be cooked easily. I'm surprised no one is driving around in a van with a cook in the back, and delivering just-made meals. No extensive menu, just focus on specific things on particular days. Aim for something decent at a good pricepoint rather than trying to replicate and deliver fancy food that ends up being like microwaved meals.

dec0dedab0de 9y ago
I have been saying the same thing for years. The thing is that food trucks can do very well by parking where many people are. They dont need to drive around.
- graphitezepp 9y ago
  I bet if the driving/parking situation for these larger vans were better in cities we would see them driving around taking orders to people.
  - hammock 9y ago
    Or, you know, staying in one place so they still get the walk-up traffic, but send out delivery guys at the same time to fulfill orders via their app. Wait a minute...this sounds suspiciously like a counterserve restaurant ...
    - koolba 9y ago
      ... but without paying rent or real estate taxes! Welcome to the 3.0 economy where an established business's fixed costs and adherence to zoning laws is another business's profit margin.
      - hammock 9y ago
        Try that in Chicago, which is maybe the most pro-restaurant and anti-streetfood city in the country. You can only park your food truck in one of 37 designated spots or cannot be within 200ft of a restaurant, and cannot park in the same location for more than 2 hours at a time (barely enough time to prep/clean).

petra 9y ago

The thing is, home cooking technology is improving, with home combi-ovens the same technology that is used is quality restaurants to reheat quality frozen food and serve as new. So the quality could be there. There's also the new solid-state microwave ovens which may also work well. As for the price vs eating out ? Well, part of this is scale and nestle can make this stuff for cheaper. But also, if this stays fresh for a week, it might fit a distribution channel like a grocers pickup service,which costs a lot less than deliveries, and marketing cost could also go way down.