Chef’d Meal Kits Coming To New York Area Drugstores

Chef’d, the maker of meal kits that can be purchased in grocery stores, has inked a deal to sell the kits in Walgreens and Duane Reade stores in the New York area.

CNBC, citing the company, reported Chef’d meal kits will be sold in 30 Walgreens and Duane Reade stores in New York as part of a deal with Smithfield Foods. The report noted that Chef’d will be one of the first meal kits sold within a drugstore.

The meals, which will be found in stores located in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Forest Hills, Yonkers, Hoboken and Jersey City, take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes to prepare and have little in the way of clean up. The meal kit serves two people and up and, according to CNBC, are priced starting at $15.99. Initially, Chef’d will sell herb-crusted flank steak with roasted potatoes, sugar snap peas and horseradish cream sauce; 20-clove garlic chicken with mashed purple potatoes and spinach; and chicken tikka masala with basmati rice, raita and naan, noted the report.

“Since its launch as the only non-subscription meal kit company, Chef’d has been dedicated to providing customers with more quality meal kit offerings in more locations,” Kyle Ransford, CEO of Chef’d, said in a statement to CNBC.

In May, Chef’d entered into distribution deals with Costco, Harris Teeter, Tops, Hy-vee, Weis and Gelson’s Markets. The push came via another partnership with Smithfield Foods — a brand best known for its meat processing — which has invested $25 million into the meal kit startup. Campbell and online grocer FreshDirect are also investors in the firm.

“Meal kits are the fastest-growing channel across the entire food industry,” Sean Butler, SVP of retail at Chef’d, said in a statement. “The expansion of Chef’d into retail enables us to serve the large group of shoppers who have never tried a meal kit but are eager for non-subscription solutions. Our goal is to give more shoppers more meals in more places to help them eat better, save time and explore new flavors.”