Dive Brief:
- Campbell Soup Company has invested $10 million in e-commerce meal kit company Chef'd, according to a company release.
- This strategic partnership makes Campbell the largest investor in Chef'd, and the soup company gains a seat on its board of directors. The meal kit company will help Campbell with infrastructure and distribution of meal solutions through its Campbell’s Kitchen site. Campbell will also have access to the data analytics, shopper insights and e-commerce expertise of Chef'd.
- Chef’d currently partners with notable chefs, culinary personalities and more than 125 trusted brands in food, fitness, and health and wellness. It offers more than 1,000 meal solutions.
Dive Insight:
Meal kits have surged in popularity over the last year, with more branded manufacturers signing partnership deals to have products featured in meal kits.
With its $10 million investment in Chef’d, Campbell is putting the industry on notice that its becoming a larger player in the e-commerce world. And while it's unclear whether this will put Campbell-branded meals front-and-center on the website for Chef'd, what is apparent is that the legacy brand will be leveraging the data, expertise and knowhow that Chef'd has accumulated over the years to improve its e-commerce offerings.
Earlier this month, Campbell reported that earnings decreased to $176 million in its third quarter from $185 million a year earlier. The company needs to make bold moves. Between 2016 and 2021, Campbell has previously said it foresees e-commerce sales of food and beverages to reach $66 billion, a compound annual growth rate of 38%.
Campbell also owns Habit, so they are already familiar with the meal kit segment. Habit combines personalized nutrition consulting with a meal kit delivery service. It has a different target audience than Chef’d, which creates single-order meal kits that can help make everything from breakfast to dessert. Chef'd not only hits a more broad-based slice of consumers, but also a lucrative one: People who are likely to both shop at brick-and-mortar stores, but are also willing to occasionally turn online to discover new meal solutions.