According to market research publisher Packaged Facts, in 2016 the meal kit delivery service industry generated close to $1.5 billion in sales.
In fact, almost every month, it seems like a new meal kit delivery service is hitting the market to join the likes of Blue Apron, Hello Fresh and Plated. One of the latest to begin rising in popularity is Martha & Marley Spoon, the brainchild of Martha Stewart and a meal-delivery service company that originated in Europe.
One of the factors driving this trend in convenience. Americans are becoming busier and busier, making it more difficult for them to put time and effort into planning meals. In addition, many of these meal kit delivery services boost the added benefit of teaching consumers new cooking skills and introducing them to ingredients they may have been too afraid to try otherwise.
So, what does this have to do with health clubs? Although it may not have a direct impact, it does show that consumers not only want guidance with nutrition — they’ll pay for it.
With this in mind, do you offer nutrition services within your club? If not, you may be missing out on an additional profit center, losing revenue dollars your customers are spending elsewhere on meal kit delivery services like Blue Apron and Martha & Marley Spoon, and even weight-loss programs like Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers.
In addition, if you don’t offer nutrition programming or guidance of some kind, you’re also failing your customers by not helping them with a key component of their health. If your customers have bad diets, they’ll see less gains from the fitness work they put in at your gym. This leads to poor results, and if your gym advertises results, this ultimately is a proof reflection on your business — even if it isn’t entirely your fault.
Interested in knowing what services your customers are using? Here are some of the most popular meal kit delivery services available.
- Blue Apron: https://www.blueapron.com/
- HelloFresh: https://www.hellofresh.com/tasty/
- Martha & Marley Spoon: https://marleyspoon.com/
- Home Chef: https://www.homechef.com/
- Sun Basket: https://www.sunbasket.com/
- Plated: https://www.plated.com/
- Purple Carrot: https://www.purplecarrot.com/
Now, tell us in the comments: How do you help members with nutrition?
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Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
