“Meal kits” is a sub-category of the Delivery sector. See all definitions of FoodTech and its categories here.

The “meal kits” FoodTech category regroups startups delivering regularly to their customers ingredients to make meals or ready-to-eat meals.

The meal-kit ecosystem is mature, but it is very fragmented even with leaders like HelloFresh (see startups to consider below). There are numerous players, each leader in its country, such as Gousto in the UK, QuiToque in France.

This segmentation can be explained because of the logistic difficulties and the lack of a universal delivery actor. When a meal-kit startup wants to grow internationally, it has to deal from zero with local partners and build new warehouses in the country.

In terms of maturity, the sector witnessed acquisitions, a rise of important deals (in amount) and a decrease in new startups creation. Indeed, since 2015, the number of startups created per year has decreased. This decrease is partly due to leaders’ high competition and the difficulty of finding seed fundings, all signs of a more mature ecosystem.

Key startups to consider

• HelloFresh, the ecosystem’s leader, born in Germany and selling meal kits worldwide
• QuiToque, the French player, acquired by Carrefour
• Mindful Chef, a British player, acquired by Nestlé
• Gousto and Allplants, the leading companies in the UK
• The US-based companies Freshly and Blue Apron

DigitalFoodLab’s additional insights

• 24/06/2021 – What will be the meal of the future?
• 18/11/2020 – Nestlé acquires a majority stake in Mindful Chef
• 23/04/2020 – Is it finally the right time for meal kits?
• 06/12/2019 – Kroger (US retailer) enters the meal delivery business