Meal Assembly Kitchen – meal preparation

Meal Assembly Kitchen (consumer meal assembly) – If you have not been to a meal assembly kitchen, and you are interested in novel business ideas that work, you owe yourself a trip to your closest store.

Simply put, a meal assembly kitchen is a local storefront that provides the ingredients, recipes, containers, and assistance so that the consumer can assemble sophisticated family meals in cook and throw containers in a matter of minutes.

The consumer often does a number of these at a time, and then freezes the throwaway containers and pulls them out to thaw and cook when they are ready. Cooking directions are sent home with each meal. The family eats a tasty meal that doesn’t taste like commercially prepared food, there’s no mess, and it is significantly cheaper and convenient than going out to a restaurant.

Meal assembly kitchens are also relatively new. Though there are a growing number of franchises, none have taken such a strong position that they can claim a territory or be considered a dominant force. Meal assembly franchises and franchise development will likely develop strongly over the next 10 years.

How it works – Consumers make an appointment with your meal assembly kitchen. Depending upon the number of workstations, you may have quite a few appointments at the same time. Meal assembly kitchens generally run on appointments in order to reduce waiting time and keep things running efficiently.

The consumer will probably make a number of meals per appointment, often enough for an entire week or more. Discounts are given for quantities such as six or twelve meals prepared in order to make the most effective profit on an appointment.

Since people eat differently and have different tastes, meal assembly kitchens have menus that cater to different tastes. One workstation may be the Italian workstation where 4-5 different Italian dishes may be made. Consumers vary the ingredients based upon their family’s tastes.

While one family may like diced tomatoes in a dish, another one may prefer to avoid those and add more cheese. The customization of each meal and allowing the consumer to actually make their own is also part of the charm and value of the service.

Another value of the meal assembly kitchen is nutrition. By designing your own menu, you can approximate the caloric and nutritional value of meals you make, thus giving the consumer more information than they will get when they make their own meals at home and far more information than is available in most restaurants.

In a day when people are very busy, have not learned to cook well, but still value the flavor, tradition, nutrition, and convenience of home cooking, meal assembly kitchens are making huge strides in popularity.

Meal assembly kitchens in a boom economy

When people are working long days and making more money, the idea of spending a few extra dollars to have home cooked meals without the mess and time involvement is a great motivator. Target your marketing towards having more free time with family and working less at the end of a busy day.

Meal assembly kitchens in a bust economy

Fewer people tend to visit restaurants in a bust economy. Yet they still want time away from the stove and the convenience of having a great meal prepared within an hour or so of getting home. Target your advertising to keep the convenience of a restaurant meal at less than half the price.

How much money can I make?

How much money you can make with a meal assembly kitchen is wide open and depends on your location and your product offerings. If you select the right market and offer a clean establishment, it’s not hard to average 60-80% of your sales as gross profits.

Like most retail establishments, location is paramount. People will go out of their way to a good meal assembly kitchen, but you can't be hard to find either. Look for good neighbors if you have to share a building. You have food in your place and people want to see clean surroundings, both in and outside the meal assembly kitchen. Clean looks and clean smells are critical. A location next to a restaurant that targets the same market is always helpful. A high end restaurant simply isn't going to help much, but one that puts out great aromas into the air will help perk your customer's appetite and desire for food just before they walk in your door.

Geographical limitations/differences

Small and/or low income towns or sections of cities are not great places to start a meal assembly kitchen. Money tends to be tight here and the extra cost isn’t worth it to people who are on shoestring budgets.

Neither do meal assembly kitchens work well in very high income areas where people tend to hire out their meal preparation. Meal assembly kitchens do best in areas with high employment and middle to upper middle and even high income households where consumers have available income, yet not so high that they don’t bother with cooking themselves.

Senior communities are also not a great place for meal assembly kitchen businesses. Seniors tend to eat out more, don’t have families at home, and tend to cook less overall.

Other geographical differences for meal assembly kitchen businesses would be things that are on your menu. You need to be able to offer menu items that are better than what they might fix at home, but not ingredients or finished products that wouldn’t be used in your section of the country.

Competitors

Meal assembly kitchens have many competitors including meal preparation at home, restaurants, and ready-to-go delis.

However, the most recent competitor is a similar model to the meal assembly kitchen that have been going into grocery stores. Several chains have recently started running their own version of meal assembly kitchens with moderate success. Whether this catches on or not remains to be seen.

Private meal assembly kitchens still maintain a unique position in that they tend to be able to respond better to customer requests. The day-to-day operations of small business meal assembly kitchens are also run by owners and close managers who have far more to lose than what is found in larger corporate retailers.

Advertising your meal assembly kitchen

Meal assembly kitchens have a unique and relatively small potential market. Therefore, shotgunning the entire marketplace really doesn’t make sense unless it catches on a whole lot more than what it is. Develop ways to target your market in advertising just a bit better. Direct mail to specific zip codes and advertising to working women at work are ideas of how to become visible to the right people with the least cost.

License Requirements

You will need typical food service licenses and inspections as would be required by any restaurant. While a meal assembly kitchen isn’t a restaurant in the typical sense, it qualifies under most jurisdiction in that food is being prepared and dispensed.

Meal service kitchen supplies

You will need to find one or more institutional food sources. Consider fresh fruits and veggies for a real market plus.

You will also need to find suppliers of sanitary food workstations, refrigeration, food storage, and possibly some cooking (depending on your offerings). These tend to be a bit pricey, but second hand restaurant equipment is available if you look and cuts the cost dramatically.

Financial Requirements

You will need to afford building space, equipment, food, advertising, and some payroll. There are decorating costs, utilities, and hopefully only a few percent food loss due to spills and loss of shelf life. Depending on your plans and part of the country (costs of real estate), starting a meal assembly kitchen with anything less than $100,000 in liquidable assets would be unwise.

What to do next

Find your institutional food sources and equipment vendors. Start researching various business locations and do research into the demographics of that community to determine whether you have an adequate consumer base in that community.

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