eMeals integrates meal planning service with Albertsons Cos. stores

Digital meal planning service eMeals has expanded its online grocery retail coverage to Albertsons Cos. supermarkets, including Safeway.

Birmingham, Ala.-based eMeals said the integration with Albertsons Cos. extends direct access to its service from most of the major national grocery retailers. Through the integrations, eMeals users get a seamless experience in which they can pick their meals and send them directly to the retailer’s stores for fulfillment and pickup or delivery in one app. Other eMeals integration partners include Kroger, Walmart grocery, Amazon Fresh, and retailers served by Instacart and Shipt.

“eMeals has been at the forefront of the online grocery trend since our first integrations nearly three years ago, and we’ve continued to build out our retailer base to provide the broadest possible choice and coverage for consumers,” eMeals CEO Forrest Collier said in a statement. “These new integrations extend the eMeals benefits to Albertsons and Safeway shoppers in all 34 states where they operate, providing both meal inspiration and seamless online grocery ordering in a single, easy-to-use platform.”

eMeals' menu of 15 food-style meal plans includes Quick and Healthy, Keto, Clean Eating, Low Calorie, Low Carb, Kid Friendly and Vegetarian options.

Connecting consumers and food brands to retailers, the eMeals curated meal plan service gives subscribers access to 15 meals, each with new weekly dinner ideas that can be mixed and matched from plan to plan. Based on the chosen meal options, the eMeals app automatically generates a grocery list of the needed ingredients that can be shopped in-store or, with one click, sent for pickup or delivery by one of the integrated grocery retailers.

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The menu of 15 food-style meal plans includes Quick and Healthy, Keto, Clean Eating, Low Calorie, Low Carb, Kid Friendly and Vegetarian options. eMeals subscribers can choose meals from the weekly suggestions or from past recipe favorites. Lunch and breakfast plans are available as well. Users also can sync devices with other family members to select, shop and cook meals.

eMeals noted that the addition of Albertsons Cos.’ more than 2,250 stores comes amid a surge in online grocery usage during the COVID-19 pandemic, which the meal planning company said has accelerated overall adoption of grocery e-commerce services by three to five years. Reflecting that growth, the number of eMeals users during their initial trial has risen to 46%, eMeals reported. The company offers a free 14-day trial.

eMeals costs $9.99 per month for a three-month subscription and $4.99 per month for a 12-month subscription. The company said its service provides an average savings of two hours per week and $2,000 per year in grocery spending.

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