The COVID-19 pandemic prompted consumers across the United States to boost their home cooking abilities and embraced meal solutions operations such as Kroger-owned Home Chef, which now has reached $1 billion in sales.
Founded in 2013 and acquired by Kroger in 2018, Home Chef has helped drive the availability of mealtime shortcuts and solutions, offered new product innovations and continued to transform how customers approach preparing meals, Kroger stated. As the operation gained acceptance, Home Chef listened to feedback and expanded its product selection to help customers reduce cooking time without sacrificing quality or flavor as part of Kroger efforts to serve consumers intent on making their lives at home better.
Today, Home Chef offers more than 500 products across a variety of segments, including meal kits, heat-and-eat meals, ready-to-eat products and seasonal meals. The brand will continue to create new products that offer customers a range of fresh mealtime shortcuts, Kroger noted, making it easy to enjoy delicious, home-cooked meals no matter how busy they are.
Both meal solutions and subscription boxes of raw perishables have won new customers over the course of the pandemic. While folks will still eat out at restaurants, they offer a convenient alternative designed to encourage consumers to eat in and not order out.
“Kroger’s commitment to being Fresh for Everyone is underscored by our Home Chef products, which help us bring families together in the kitchen with meal options for any occasion,” said Dan De La Rosa, Kroger group vp/fresh merchandising. “We continue to strategically expand Home Chef offerings across our family of companies. Whether it’s meal kits, or heat-and-eat and ready-to-cook solutions, which are available via subscription, in-store, pickup, or delivery, it’s safe to say that Home Chef has mealtime covered.”
Erik Jensen, president of Home Chef, said, “At Home Chef, we’re on a mission to make mealtime easier with fresh ingredients and simple instructions. By offering time-saving meal solutions at the Kroger family of stores, we’re able to simplify the cooking process, provide a wide variety of options, and allow customers to enjoy a delicious homemade experience. We’re excited to continue scaling the brand and creating new products that are accessible to customers nationwide.”
Home Chef products can be purchased nationwide exclusively at more than 2,200 Kroger Family of Stores, in-store and online via pickup or delivery, and through a home delivery subscription available at www.homechef.com.
