Dive Brief:
- The Fresh Market is launching a line of premium fine dining meal solutions called Ultimate Dinner Meals, the company announced in a press release. The company is kicking off its first week with Ultimate Steakhouse Dinner Meal featuring prime grade steaks, premium appetizers and sides as well as a gourmet fresh fruit tart.
- The meals feed six people and retail for $149.99, or about $25 per person. Each meal kit will include two USDA prime first-cut New York strip steaks; two first-cut ribeye steaks; two chateaubriand-cut filet mignon steaks; two pounds of ready-to-cook seasoned asparagus; six ready-to-eat loaded twice-baked potatoes; one Caprese platter with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil; and lastly, one 9-inch gourmet fruit tart made with over one pound of fresh fruit.
- Cooking and heating instructions are included, as well as recommended wine pairings. Customers can order the meals with a smartphone using a QR code or through The Fresh Market's website for curbside pickup within two hours, or preorder them online for in-store pickup by 2 p.m.
Dive Insight:
With many restaurants closed for business, particularly upscale restaurants that are primarily indoors, customers are having to cook at home more. The Fresh Market’s new meal solutions allow shoppers to still treat themselves to a special meal that according to the retailer can rival the quality of the food in a fine dining restaurant.
These meals include multiple courses and feature premium products, which explains their high price point compared to what most meal solutions found at grocery stores cost.
The Fresh Market has more affordable options for everyday meals, including its Little Big Meal, ready-to-cook weekly meals that include an entree and side and feed a family of four for $25 or less. The grocer also has its Marlet Meal Kits, which feed two people and can be prepared in less than 20 minutes in one skillet. In addition, The Fresh Market has holiday meal offerings including seasonal, value meals.
Ready-to-heat meals in particular have seen an uptick recently, seemingly due to the sheer number of people having to cook at home because of COVID-19 amid busy schedules.
In August, meal kit company Sun Basket launched a line of ready-to-heat meals that can be prepared in about six minutes. Two months earlier, Giant Eagle also rolled out a line of ready-to-heat meals to complement its store-brand meal kits.
