Meal delivery is a convenient solution for those who want to enjoy home-cooked meals but lack the time or culinary skills. Services range from prepared meal kits to a la carte grocery deliveries.
Many services offer options for those with dietary restrictions like gluten-free diets, diabetes management, or nut allergies. They also often utilize insulated boxes and containers with ice packs for food safety. Check out more at Jax!
Convenience
When it comes to grocery shopping, the idea of spending time chopping veggies and watching produce go bad in the refrigerator can be enough to put people off. With meal delivery services, that’s all eliminated – you get ready-to-eat meals that are already prepared with fresh ingredients.
These services are also a great way to try new recipes or cuisines that you may not be comfortable cooking at home. Many meals are even sourced from local restaurants, giving you an opportunity to support your community.
Lastly, the convenience of meal delivery reduces mental fatigue for busy professionals. With back-to-back meetings and juggling international clients across multiple time zones, dinner preparation can become a major stressor. Meal delivery services remove this decision-making burden, allowing for a more restful evening at home. They are ideal for anyone seeking a healthier lifestyle or looking to change up their diet. But the convenience of these meal-kit or pre-cooked meals comes at a cost. Many services use a lot of packaging, which can result in waste.
Variety
In addition to grocery delivery, some services also offer meal kits or pre-cooked meals delivered directly to consumers. Meal kits are usually subscription based, whereas grocery delivery is usually offered a la carte.
The professional nutrition community has recommended a variety of interpretations and recommendations regarding the importance of food variety. Some recommend varying foods within groups, such as “fruits; meats and fish; enriched, whole grain, or bran cereals and grains products; and milk and dairy foods” (USDA and DHHS, 1980).
The researchers analyzed the data to determine whether there was any relationship between food variety and caloric intake. Because a precise measurement of variety was not possible, the researchers chose to use the number of unique food codes that appeared on the records.
Flexibility
Most meal delivery services offer subscription models that allow customers to select how many meals they want to receive each week. They also usually make it easy to skip a week’s order or change your plan in the website or app.
Many meal delivery companies provide detailed recipe cards that include step-by-step instructions and photos, as well as nutrition information. These cards may also have QR codes that link to videos with additional tips and tricks. In addition, meal kit companies are usually smart about packaging. Ingredients that need to be refrigerated, such as meats and dairy products, are often packed in insulated containers with ice packs.
If you’re someone who values variety, dislikes the experience of grocery shopping and has time to cook, meal delivery services might be worth considering. However, if you’re someone who appreciates the thrill of hunting deals and enjoys planning and cooking unique and delicious meals, grocery shopping might still be your better option.
Freshness
If you live a busy life and don’t always have time to go shopping, meal delivery services can be an excellent solution. The meals are already cooked, so they only need to be reheated, which saves you a lot of time. Additionally, some services have healthy options that cater to different dietary needs.
One way that food delivery services ensure freshness is by using insulated packaging and ice packs to keep the food cold during transit. Also, they usually pack the ingredients separately, which minimizes air exposure. These factors help the foods stay fresh and crisp for the entire time that they are in storage.
Another way to maintain freshness is through eliciting cues that signal to the consumer that the food is fresh. For example, studies show that when consumers observe a piece of food moving, they perceive it as fresher than a similar piece of food that is still. This may be because the movement cues are less ambiguous than other cues such as color or scent.