Albertsons brings back Plated

Albertsons’ meal kit brand Plated is back on shelves.

According to BoiseDev, a news site based in the company's home base of Boise, Idaho, Plated has returned after Albertsons pulled the meal kits from shelves last March to reassess its overall meal kit strategy.

According to the BoiseDev report, the new meal kits sport a reworked brand but remain largely the same: a bundle of ingredients along with a recipe to prepare a meal at home. The company did tweak one component: ingredients now come pre-chopped. The kits for two people — both full meal and starter varieties — are priced at $14.99.

In November, Albertsons announced it would shift its Plated brand from a subscription meal solution to a comprehensive culinary Own Brand.

“Our vision for Plated includes an expanded set of products that goes far beyond a dinner-based solution and into a comprehensive in-house culinary brand,” said Geoff White, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer at Albertsons. “With a broader scope of offerings, we see Plated solving customer demands around convenience, lifestyle and cooking experience, while adding yet another layer of interest to our in-store journey.”

Own Brands remains an important source of growth and innovation at Albertsons, according to the company. Own Brands penetration grew from 23% in fiscal 2017 to 25.3% in Albertsons’ most recently reported quarter. The Own Brands team launched 1,100 new items in 2018 alone.

According to Albertsons, the decision to formally bring Plated into the company’s lineup of Own Brands comes after extensive testing of the meal kits’ in-store performance in the grocer's Safeway stores in Northern California. The company found that shoppers who purchase Plated products are more likely to have families and have a larger basket than the average shopper.

“Plated’s brand appeals to our most loyal and highest-value customers, especially those that skew towards convenient, fresh and organic products,” White observed.

As the Plated portfolio grows in the store, its products will be available for purchase online through stores’ existing e-commerce platforms, which offer delivery in as little as two hours, or pickup through the retailer's Drive Up & Go service.

Gina Acosta is an editor and writer with Progressive Grocer.