Plated Meal Kits Roll Out to Albertsons Chains

After its acquisition of New York-based meal kit service Plated last September, Albertsons Cos. is ramping up marketing and merchandising for the kits following its decision to start selling them in stores.Previously available only by subscription, Plated meal kits rolled out to 40 stores in Chicago and Northern California on April 5 as Albertsons announced plans to bring the kits to hundreds more stores by the end of the year. Currently, the kits can be found in over 200 stores owned by Albertsons around the country in states including Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico, according to May 17 Plated social media updates.The kits are available at select locations for two hour delivery via Instacart, same-day and scheduled home delivery, and in-store pickup through Albertsons’ click-and-collect service Drive Up & Go.Plated is offering six meal kits in stores for the initial rollout including some of its current customer favorites such as beef noodle bowls with dinosaur kale and a pine nut-crusted salmon with creamy tomato farro and roasted green beans. Online, Plated offers 20 meal kits and two dessert options each week.In select stores, the meal kits (priced from $15 to $19) have received prime positioning in deli areas, stocked in cooler displays decorated with balloons and Plated’s signature orange color. Headers invite shoppers to “say hello to the perfect dinner experience,” while adjacent stanchion signs tout the new in-store offering.Online support spans a May 4 email blast that linked to a store-locator landing page sent to shoppers near stores already merchandising the kits, a post on the Morsel by Plated blog, and social media updates from Plated, Albertsons and Jewel-Osco including a Facebook video from Plated. (View below.)Plated co-founder and chief executive officer Josh Hix and Albertsons vice president of strategic business initiatives Pat Brown sat down with Becky Quick for a segment on CNBC’s “On the Money” on May 5 to promote Plated’s venture in stores. May 4 and 5 Twitter updates from Plated supported the segment."Our internal research told us that 80% of our customers would love to see a meal kit option in the store,” Brown told CNBC in the interview. “And what was more surprising was that 85% of customers that were already subscribing to meal kits wanted to see meal kits in the store.”Additionally, Plated’s social media accounts shared various articles covering its news with Albertsons from outlets such as The Today Show and Food & Wine magazine.Carousel ads on select chain home pages including Albertsons, Shaw’s, Jewel-Osco and Carrs do not mention the in-store addition but promote Plated subscriptions by dangling a “25% off your first month” offer. The ads link to Plated’s website for more information. The offer ends Dec. 31. First time subscribers that redeem the offer prior to the expiration save 25% on each of their first four qualifying orders. A 60-second TV spot and sponsored Facebook ads support the offer.

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