Good Eggs Survey Reveals Mail-Order Meal Kit Malaise as 93% Don't Subscribe, Citing Frustrations with Expense and Subscription

    OAKLAND, CA, June 05, 2019 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Good Eggs, the online market that delivers absurdly fresh groceries, today announced the results of its Family Food Fix Survey, which takes a pulse on the perspectives and behaviors of today's consumers when it comes to the necessary task of grocery shopping. Additionally, the findings reveal insights into meal kit usage, the reality of preparing multiple dinners every night, and what families across America want most for dinner.

"From grocery shopping to getting dinner on the table, feeding a family has become a time-consuming struggle for today's busy parents," said Jaime Nessel, Vice President of Assortment of Good Eggs. "Online grocery delivery services can provide significant time savings to families. At Good Eggs, we provide a complete, yet curated assortment of local products, absurdly fresh local produce and meat, as well as highly seasonal meal kit options our customers can elect to purchase without subscriptions, right along with their grocery orders."

Since launching its meal kit service in October of 2017, Good Eggs' meal kits, which are available for purchase with regular grocery orders, quickly grew in popularity with customers. In 2018, 27% of all Good Eggs' grocery orders contained one or more meal kit. The convenience of Good Eggs' meal kits meet the needs of today's busy parents, as more than 75% of the meal kits that are being purchased by Good Eggs' customers can be prepared in 30 minutes or less.

Are Mail-Order Meal Kits Really Helpful, or Just a Bunch of Hype?
Despite all the hype around mail-order meal kits like Blue Apron, SunBasket, and Purple Carrot, 93% surveyed said they currently don't subscribe to any mail-order meal kit service, and 23% once subscribed to meal kits but no longer do. Overall, the top three key frustrations consumers have with mail-order meal kits include: they are too expensive (66%), the portion sizes are too small for their family (41%), and the hassle of having to manage the subscription every week (41%). Additionally, when it comes to meal kits that serve four people, 51% only want to spend $15 to $20 for the meal, and 65% say they are only willing to spend 30 minutes or less preparing the meal.

Making Dinner Has Turned into a Part-Time Job
It's no secret that kids are picky eaters, and 61% say it's their top frustration when it comes to feeding their children, and 63% with picky eaters are preparing two or more meals every night for dinner. Overall, 59% of parents say they don't plan meals in advance, and it's likely because 58% say they regularly prepare more than one meal for their family every night. In fact, 23% admit to preparing three or more meals every night in order to meet the needs of their family members.

Pasta, It's What's for Dinner
Picky eaters aside, parents are tuned in to what dinners sound most appealing to them and also have a good sense of the meals that they prepare that the whole family loves. When asked to select which three types of meals sound most appealing to prepare for their family, the number one response was pasta (46%) followed by tacos (45%), chicken (41%), pizza (40%), and burgers (35).

And, it's no wonder. When it comes to preparing a favorite dinner that everyone in the family loves, respondents also ranked pasta dishes in the top position with spaghetti and meatballs being the most popular pasta dish, followed by lasagna, and macaroni and cheese. Chicken ranked second, with dishes like chicken alfredo and fried chicken getting mentioned. Tacos ranked third, with other Mexican dishes like enchiladas, nachos, and burrito bowls also getting call outs.

Today's Grocery Dilemma - Quality vs. Kids vs. Price
When asked to select their top three frustrations with grocery shopping, 67% of those surveyed noted that the price of products ranked number one. However, shoppers are willing to compromise price for quality, with the top five items they are willing to pay more for including organic vegetables (38%), organic fruit (37%), anything their kids eat (34%), grass-fed/responsibly raised meat (33%), and coffee (27%).

Men Are Upping their Game in the Grocery Store, and the Kitchen
It turns out men are more conscientious about grocery shopping and meal planning than society may realize. Men (19%) are more likely than women (12%) to put together a grocery list based on weekly sales. Additionally, 49% of men plan their family's weekly meals in advance as opposed to 33% of women. Men may also slightly better targets for meal kits, as only 58% are concerned with the expense (as opposed to 75% of women).

Are Millennials the New Grocery Trend Setters?
Millennials (14%) are nearly three times as likely than Gen X (5%) to buy from a CSA or Produce Delivery service, and more Millennials (30%) shop at specialty food stores than their Gen X (23%) counterparts. When it comes to meal kits, nearly 40% of all Millennials, versus 25% of Gen X, have once subscribed to them, with 30% and 19% respectively no longer subscribing.

Survey Methodology
Good Eggs conducted its Family Food Fix Survey sampling 821 consumers between April 7 and April 8, 2019. The margin of error is +/- 3.35%.

About Good Eggs
Good Eggs is a pioneering online grocer and meal kit delivery service with a mission to reinvent your food system, for good. The Bay Area-based company is the only service that combines absurdly fresh local produce, meal kits for every occasion, grocery staples, and wine, beer, and spirits to wash it down. With same-day delivery across the Bay Area, Good Eggs is the simplest way to feed your family well all week long.

Over the past two years, Good Eggs has added over 1,000 items across categories to its marketplace and expanded its delivery footprint throughout SF, East Bay, Marin, and the South Bay and Peninsula. As the company has grown, they remain steadfast in their mission. The majority of Good Eggs' product & produce assortment is local, and every item carried must meet a strict list of sourcing standards. In addition to good food, the company provides good jobs. Every operations team member receives benefits, carries equity, and is paid 20 to 50% above industry average.

Good Eggs is privately owned. Investors include Benchmark, Index Ventures, Obvious Ventures, S2G Ventures and others. The company was awarded Best Grocery Delivery by San Francisco Magazine in 2017, and was awarded Best Grocery Delivery by SF Weekly in 2019. For more information about Good Eggs visit https://about.goodeggs.com

Good Eggs Links
More information about Good Eggs' Meal Kits can be found here.
A link to an infographic that contains survey data can be found here.

# # #