PCC Community Markets Joins the Meal Kit Movement

PCC Community Markets is the latest to join the growing list of retailers offering their own meal kit lines. The Seattle-based community-owned food market on Wednesday launched its new subscription-free Scratch-made Meals at Home meal kits, available via Instacart and Amazon Prime Now, and for in-store purchase at Greenlake Village PCC.

Consumer demand for meal kits is rising, with sales of in-store meal kits up 26% year over year, per Nielsen data. Though meal kit buyers are seeking more than convenience alone, as high-quality ingredients, diverse flavor profiles, low cost and sustainable packaging factor heavily in meal kit purchasing decisions.

Created by PCC’s in-house chefs, the retailer’s Scratch-made Meals at Home line features easy-to-follow original recipes made with organic produce and non-GMO, locally raised meats. The meal kits are hand-packed in PCC kitchens in packaging that is almost entirely compostable or recyclable.

“The meal kit market is growing at an incredible rate, and as a certified organic grocer, PCC is uniquely positioned to succeed,” said Darrell Vannoy, VP of merchandising for PCC, in a statement. “Our kits will be individually hand-packed in our own local kitchens, not shipped days ago from a warehouse several states away. This allows PCC to offer customers greater flexibility and choice, and reduces costly waste.”

Related:Plated Meal Kits to Reach 650 Albertsons Stores This Year

Retailers are finally tapping into the segment—which was previously exclusive to meal kit startup companies such as Plated, Blue Apron and HelloFresh—to reach consumer demand for convenience and personalization. ShopRite recently launched a line of multicultural meal kits, and Walmart announced it will roll out its new meal kits to more than 2,000 stores this year, as well as make the kits available through its Online Grocery pickup program.

Separately on Thursday, Peapod announced it was adding three new offerings to its meal kit lines, with recipes developed in partnership with restaurant chains Wildfire and Big Bowl of Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises. 

PCC’s meal kits are available in six globally inspired varieties, including a vegetarian offering, with additional recipes to be added every four weeks. The initial six kits include:

Related:Meal Kit Popularity Shows Convenience, Yet Personalization Is a Must

Each kit costs cost $19.99 for a full two-person meal and comes with suggestions for complementary made-from-scratch salads available via delivery or in-store, as well as wine, beer or cider pairings available in-store.

The retailer plans to offer its Scratch-made Meals at Home meal kits at Burien PCC when the store opens in May, and will roll them out to additional PCC locations later this year.