Tesco has fired a salvo in own label’s fight to grab a share of the meal kits market, joining Waitrose in facing down increasingly popular recipe box schemes such as Gousto and Hello Fresh.
The supermarket giant’s 12-strong Recipe Box line-up has rolled out into a dozen of the retailer’s stores in an initial six-week trial.
Packaged in a rustic-looking cardboard box, each kit contains all the ingredients needed for shoppers to prepare an ‘interesting and healthy’ meal for two (£8).
The new Tesco range includes kits for Mediterranean Spice Rubbed Chicken with Rice; Malaysian Beef Curry with Coconut Rice; Poached Salmon Fishcakes with Green Beans & Lemon Aioli; Mushroom Risotto with Pecorino; and Spanish King Prawn & Chorizo Paella.
It coincides with the rollout by Waitrose of a similar range of meal kit bags into 20 stores, as reported by The Grocer last week. Introduced on a pilot basis, the upmarket retailer’s Dinner for Tonight range, pitched as ‘ultra convenient’, includes a selection of recipes inspired by global flavours, such as Sticky Korean Beef with Sesame Infused Cauliflower Rice & Kimchee as well as Soy & Ginger Seared Salmon with Sesame Vegetable Noodles (£8-£12/serving two).
Recipes are changed regularly, with new vegetarian and meat offerings available every day.
This week, the Waitrose Food & Drink report for 2016 predicted that gourmet meal kits would “run and run” as one of the key trends over the coming 12 months.
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