Giant Landover, Coborns Roll Out Meal Kits

Items promise convenience, freshness, seasonality

August 18, 2016, 02:10 pm

Meal kit offerings from (left to right) Giant Landover and Coborns

Joining a growing contingent of grocers, Giant Food, of Landover, Md., has launched fresh meal kits at eight stores in the Washington, D.C., area, while St. Cloud, Minn.-based Coborns has introduced seasonal, quick-prep To the Table Fresh Meal Kits through its CobornsDelivers service.

Each Giant Food kit features pre-measured, fresh ingredients and step-by-step instructions to create a meal for two in 35 minutes or under. The kits will be available at the deli and produce departments of the eight locations and can also be ordered for home delivery via Peapod by Giant. The summer meal varieties are Lemon thyme chicken with zucchini, cherry tomatoes and white rice; Asian-style pork stir-fry with white rice; Black 7 feta cheese stuffed chicken breasts with roasted broccoli and potato wedges; and Salmon risotto with spring vegetables. One kit retails for $14.99, while two kits, serving four people, go for $24.99.

“These new fresh meals kits are a way for us to make our customers’ lives easier,” noted Giant Food President Gordon Reid, adding that the items “will save our customers time while also providing them with a healthy, well-rounded delicious meal the whole family can enjoy together.”

Giant Food’s sister banner, Giant Carlisle, brought out similar meal kits last December at its Camp Hill and Hampden Township, Pa., stores, and has since expanded the program to Philadelphia-area locations.

Coborns Takes It 'To the Table'

Coborns’ To the Table Fresh Meal Kits, meanwhile, “make it effortless for everyone — from kitchen novices to seasoned chefs — to skip takeout and get cooking, even on the busiest of nights (a hot meal before sports practice!) or for an easy weekend dinner at the lake (cabin meal planning solved!),” according to Dave Hartman, CobornsDelivers’ general manager.

While shopping for groceries online at CobornsDelivers, metro Minneapolis-St. Paul customers may choose from eight meals, each packed in a box with everything required to prepare dinner. Featuring fresh, local produce, premium meats and artisan breads, the first eight seasonal summer meals include:

• Beef slider burgers with corn on the cob and deluxe potato salad
• Certified Hereford top sirloin steak with grillin' medley potatoes, asparagus and French baguette
• Chicken fajitas with pico de gallo, sour cream and guacamole
• Grilled margherita pizzas
• Lemon pepper chicken with vegetable kabobs, pasta salad and rustic Italian bread
• Marinated salmon with long-grain and wild rice blend, Brussels sprouts and olive/rosemary focaccia
• Pork chops with baked potatoes, baby carrots and asiago garlic bread
• Teriyaki pork tenderloin with grillin' medly potoates, broccolini and French baguette

To the Table kits, which consist of two generous servings and are priced from $16.99 to $28.99, are shipped the same day that orders are received at CobornsDelivers, which operates out of a superstore in New Hope, Minn.

 “Meal kit delivery services are growing in popularity, and it’s a concept that folds perfectly into our convenient service model,” noted Hartman. Unlike other meal kit providers, however, “CobornsDelivers customers won’t be locked in to a subscription plan – and the ingredients aren’t shipped across the country,” Hartman added.

The new fresh meal kits will begin showing up in Coborns’ brick-and-mortar stores soon as part of the regional retailer’s continued focus on fresh offerings.