It’s no secret, meal-kit purchasers love to eat fresh, delicious food. But maintaining long-term relationships with those subscribers has proven to be challenging for enterprising providers. Renewal notices often go ignored, and churn rates are off the charts.

A study by Morning Consult reporting the average duration of meal-kit subscriptions reveals the extent of the slide.¹ Imagine a precipitous slope angling toward a cliff: only 39% of consumers were subscribed for one week, 26% for 2-4 weeks, 17% for 5-8 weeks. After 6-12 months, 96% of subscribers had opted out.

MEAL-KIT PERCEPTION

Various factors can negatively impact a consumer’s perception of a meal kit and its value. For instance, sloppy, crushed packaging or poor labeling can weaken a buyer’s trust in a product. Beyond consumer impression, this becomes a food safety issue when compromised packaging causes ingredients to comingle — meats leaking onto ready-to-eat produce, or pesky pathogens contaminating other foods.

In 2018, the Otter Products Innovation Team visited meal-kit fans in San Francisco and Boston to explore consumer behaviors and to test Liviri Fresh solutions. Participants included individuals, families and couples living in urban and suburban environments — people who love meal kits for their convenience and tremendous menu options.

These consumers noted that wasteful packaging is their top meal-kit delivery deterrent (43%), followed closely by food spoilage fears (36%).

Inside the boxes on our kitchen counters, “You’ll typically find insulation, goopy ice packs, and a bunch of tiny plastic bags and boxes and jars for, say, four sprigs of parsley, a tablespoon of vegan butter …” notes WIRED magazine².

And with that, a conundrum: “the rise of meal-kit services leaves us with a dilemma, weighing personal convenience against adding to already overflowing landfills.”

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tells us that food and packaging and containers amount to approximately 45% of materials landfilled in the US. The same packaging and containers contribute 39 million tons per year to municipal solid waste streams.³[

Liviri Fresh partnered with a leading US provider of cold-pressed juice to pilot its reusable, insulated shipping container with eco-conscious consumers.

•          Consumers loved the simplicity and eco benefit of a reusable shipping box

•          81% said using Liviri Fresh would make them more likely to recommend product

•          76% said they’d pay more to use Liviri, an average of $6.63 more per order

•          71% said they’d become more frequent customers because of Liviri Fresh[

Digging for answers, we surveyed 300 meal-kit consumers to gauge their responses to eco-friendly packaging that helps temper our waste generating habits.

Results show that the majority of eco-conscious meal-kit consumers crave a less-wasteful path forward. And, food for thought: more than 90 percent of participants said they were more inclined to purchase meal-kit products if shipped in reusable containers.

PROTECTING PERISHABLES, PEOPLE & OUR BUSINESS PARTNERS

Liviri Fresh insulated shipping boxes eliminate excess packing materials, reduce food waste from spoilage and provide a convenient, sustainable return process.

This is where Liviri Fresh makes a difference. By bringing together protective products and a service model customers can get cozy with, we optimize your operations in a way that inspires trust and loyalty — for less churn and burn.

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LIVIRI — Reimagine the Box