GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Time can be our most valuable commodity, which has caused a big boom in the meal and grocery delivery business.
It wasn’t long ago that having food delivered to your doorstep was a luxury, but now it’s common. Spending less time in the kitchen is very appealing for many.
Blue Apron and Hello Fresh are just a couple of the companies competing for customers.
“It’s very easy and cost effective,” says Mark Hiler, who uses Hello Fresh. “They even show you pictures as well.”
The meal kits are delivered right to your door, which means there’s no need to fight crowds at grocery stores.
The thriving industry has a lot of options. Peach Dish has Southern cooking, while The Purple Carrot caters to the vegan crowd.
All you have to do is select the meals you want to order and wait for the package to arrive.
“When you’re working a full day at work and you want to have a meal and you don’t feel like cooking a four-course meal, you just open up the box, and it’s really easy,” says Hiler.
Prices are reasonable and the convenience is tough to beat with cooking times around 30 minutes.
They ship the precise amount of ingredients you’ll need for the recipe.
Even big retail giants like Meijer and Spartan Nash are getting into the delivery game.
“Here at Meijer we strive for ways at solving our customer’s needs,” says Art Sebastian, VP of Digital Shopping at Meijer.
Meijer says they’ve made the service available to millions of households in Michigan and the Midwest.
“A million eggs delivered to our customers' houses,” says Sebastian. “I’m talking about a million and a half pounds of bananas. 85,000 gallons of water.”
The online convenience helps shoppers find what they need quickly and easily.
“Whether you’re time starved or just physically challenged at getting around the store, this service could answer your needs,” says Sebastian.
And in Grand Rapids, Doorganics is one of the originators of the food delivery business. They opened their doors in 2011. It’s sort of like going to the local farmers market online.
“What we’re most focused here at Doorganics is making grocery delivery easy and convenient but also keeping the connection to your food,” says Mike Hughes, founder of Doorganics.
The farmers market fresh produce ships right to your door.
“Right now there’s a race to provide convenience in grocery. And that’s to get every single product that’s available to your door as quickly as possible,” says Hughes.
