Specialty & Niche Meal Kit Marketing Should Hone In On Specific Consumer Needs & Wants

Many consumers adapted to new ways of cooking and eating during the pandemic, with delivery, curbside pickup of restaurant meals and meal kits all seeing consumer interest rise during the last year. Many pandemic-related habits are sticking around as consumers learn to appreciate the convenience of delivery and eating at home. Several meal kit brands, primarily focused on healthy, fresh or sustainable eating, are leveraging digital advertising solutions to reach consumers. For example, meal kit brands, including Diet Direct, Trifecta Food, Farmbox Direct and Marley Spoon, are targeting their key audiences with discounts, informative content, shipping deals and social responsibility initiatives, leveraging the popularity of ecommerce to grow engagement and sales.

The Food Institute, which notes that there has been a “tectonic shift in the [meal kit] industry” since the pandemic, reports that growth in the meal kit industry will continue as brands target “consumers on a diet or with specialized diets: with some services already offering keto, paleo and vegetarian meal plans, additional specialized selections are likely to draw in more consumers.” 

Diet Direct Offers Discounts And Convenience For Consumers Looking To Slim Down

For many people, cutting calories is difficult because of the need to constantly cook and shop. Diet Direct offers “great tasting, high protein food and supplements” that help their customers “get the nutritional help to maintain a healthy lifestyle.” For consumers who are undertaking new diet and exercise regimens, Diet Direct alleviates the concern of juggling cooking and meal planning. Diet Direct’s specialty foods and kits are delivered directly to customers’ doorsteps, with a 30% off promotion offered for first orders as an added incentive. Via their website, consumers have a variety of options for ordering products from Diet Direct brands, including directly from the Diet Direct ecommerce platform or with subscribe and save accounts that allow customers to have their selections automatically shipped. 

Trifecta Nutrition Leverages Website Content To Connect With Targeted Consumers

Trifecta Nutrition targets consumers who want high-protein, personalized meals that match their high-intensity fitness goals. “Eat like you train” is the brand’s tagline, explaining, “Trifecta offers science-backed meal plans designed to help you lose weight, add muscle and feel incredible in your own skin.” With diets including keto, paleo and clean, consumers can enroll for weekly meal plans and manage their  subscriptions with the Trifecta app, which lets them change plans or skip certain weeks. The meals require very little prep time, a fact Trifecta reiterates in the brand’s online content, including a video explaining how the plans work. Consumers can also choose to recreate the meals of world-class athletes, who share their Trifecta diets on the site, including what they eat at different points in their training. Quality content from experts can help consumers feel good about their purchasing decisions, especially when advertising to niche groups like bodybuilders or CrossFit devotees. 

Free Shipping And Enrollment Discounts For Farmbox Direct Members

The last several years have seen an uptick in people choosing to embrace or try veganism, vegetarianism and flexitarianism. Farmbox Direct appeals to those choosing to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, offering free shipping and generous enrollment discounts for subscribers. The direct-to-consumer (DTC) produce brand offers a variety of options, including organic and all-natural boxes of fruits and vegetables, and “juicing” boxes which contain all the necessary ingredients for green, orange or red juices. Farmbox Direct leverages a personal touch with their offerings, explaining “We spend many hours sourcing the best organic, and natural produce available to bring to your doorstep. We believe in farm to table, the way food should be!” For the niche market that Farmbox Direct is likely appealing to, content that explains the source of the food and the care spent assembling the boxes is bound to drive subscriptions.

Marley Spoon Differentiates With Meal Variety And Sustainability Commitment

Curated by Martha Stewart, the doyenne of style herself, Marley Spoon offers gourmet meal kits created from 29 different recipes, but requiring only six steps to cook. The combination of quality ingredients and convenience is a key part of the brand’s messaging. “To help make weeknights easier and dinners more delicious, we’re [Marley Spoon] taking the thousands of dishes we’ve created and delivering them right to your door. Every recipe we share reflects our love for seasonal ingredients and delicious flavors,” explains Marley Spoon. In addition, the brand is committed to sustainability in its business, operating as a completely carbon neutral company, working with small food producers and planting “more than 44,000 trees in Venezuela and Uruguay,” and distributing “4,000 clean and efficient cookstoves to families who cook with open fire in Zambia.” Brands that are able to advertise their corporate social responsibility initiatives often find favor with like-minded consumers.

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