Kroger Co (KR) Joins Roster of Prepared Meal-Kit Providers

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Add Kroger Co (NYSE:KR) to the list of outlets selling prepared meal kits. Joining the burgeoning niche of meal kit delivery services dominated by Hello Fresh and Blue Apron, the Cincinnati, Ohio-based grocery operator is testing the concept at four stores on its home turf.

Kroger KR stock

KR’s Prep + Pared line of meal kits comes with the ingredients necessary to prepare a meal for two in about 20 minutes. Prices start near $14, less than the $10-per-person average estimated by food consultancy The NPD Group. that compares to around $4 per person for a traditional, you-buy/you-cook meal.

Meal kits are a big business today, exploding into a $1.5 billion market over the past five years, reported Progressive Grocer, citing Rockville, Md.-based Packaged Facts. Expect that market to double by 2022.  Players are hoping consumers will pick on-demand home cooking over restaurant takeout and delivery.

Kroger is one of the largest retailers in the United States, operating nearly 2,800 retail food stores across 35 states and D.C. The company also runs 784 convenience stores and 323 Fred Meyer in 30 states.

Kroger isn’t the first grocer to enter the fray. East Coast operator Giant Food Stores sells its Fresh Meal Kits, while Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFM) recently started selling meal kits called Purple Carrot meal kits. Publix Super Markets Inc. (OTCMKTS:PUSH) also recently debuted its own line.

Despite a competitive industry, KR stock has enjoyed significant financial success in recent years, with revenues increasing from $96.7 billion to $115.3 billion and EPS rising from $1.39 to $2.05 between fiscal 2013 and 2017, noted InvestorPlace contributor Hilary Kramer last month. Shares gained more than 4% in the last week.

 


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2017/05/kroger-co-kr-2/.

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