Advertising Age reports on the growing trend toward “fresh meal assembly operations” – massive kitchens that allow people to “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.” And, the people tend to do it as a group, treating the activity as a social occasion.
While the kitchens allow men through the front door, the target is women – who, according to national statistics, spend twice as much time preparing meals than men.
The trend even has a trade group – the Easy Meal Preparation Association.
While the kitchens allow men through the front door, the target is women – who, according to national statistics, spend twice as much time preparing meals than men.
The trend even has a trade group – the Easy Meal Preparation Association.
- KC's View:
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The Ad Age piece stresses the notion that engaging in this activity helps people assuage guilt about not cooking for their families.
We’re not sure how true that is…and we suspect that it will become less so as time goes on.
People don’t feel guilty about not cooking. They are just looking for options that work – and combining a social event with a sense of more nutritious food than might be bought at a fast feeder, and even being more cost-efficient, just meets a number of priorities.
The better question is why some supermarket chains don’t embrace this concept. They have the food. They have the customers and, presumably, a database that would allow them to target appropriate customers. They’re supposed to have the expertise. Why not find a location and give it a shot.
