A great example of the socialization of the retail experience, this time in a food setting. This article from Advertising Age shows how some companies are using the social experience of food prep in a dynamic, new way. It's certainly a luxury, but a luxury that lets women (they're primary target) do something for their family. We think you'll see more of his kind of experience across a broad range of retail in the future.
Fed up with frozen meals, fast food and takeout, women are heading back to the kitchen in droves. Well, actually, in groups.The Easy Meal Preparation Association estimates there are now 500 mass assembly retail kitchen outlets in operation across the country.
Sporting June Cleaver-pleasing names like Dream Dinners, Dinners Together and Simply Homemade, hundreds of fresh-meal-assembly operations are cropping up nationwide, tapping into busy women's guilt over home cooking and even putting a practical spin on the girls' night out.Assembly line efficiency
At these storefronts, women whip up a month's worth of dinners in a single, two-hour session without worrying about planning, shopping, chopping, cleaning up or even cooking. Think Rachael Ray meets the automotive assembly line.Born out of freezer cooking clubs in Washington state, about 500 storefronts are open today nationwide, said Bert Vermeulen, president of the Ohio-based Easy Meal Preparation Association. The popularity of the concept is a natural in a country for better or worse reliant on Stouffer's and Hamburger Helper. While NPD Group reports that 80% of meals are eaten and prepared at home, one-third of those are ready-to-eat or frozen products.
Pre-cut, pre-cooked
Here's how it works: For each dish, the customer measures and scoops pre-cut, pre-cooked ingredients into a resealable bag or aluminum pan and labels each entree to take home. Meals run the gamut from lasagna to a sausage, chicken and white-bean cassoulet, and cost anywhere from $80 for six dishes to $312 for a dozen high-end entrees and desserts to feed a family of four to six. The average "class," or meal-prep session, costs about $200 for 72 servings.An excuse to socialize
Food isn’t the only draw. Naperville, Ill.-based Dinners Together heavily reinforces the social factor with parties around Bunco dice-game nights, baby showers and book clubs. Customers get “two guilt-free hours out with girlfriends, yet it’s very productive for your family,” said Deb Scheckel, owner of the independent store, which has a “living room” area where women can chat and drink wine as a break from the assembly line.
Easy meal assembly is huge now. Our company just launched a back end web application that does everything an owner/operator needs to run their business. Check out the product page: http://www.eatsolution.com/
Posted by: dm | July 05, 2006 at 04:57 PM