Dive Brief:
- New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is partnering with meal-kit startup Purple Carrot to develop TB12 Performance Meals, according to Fortune. The TB12 Performance Meals brand, named after Brady's initials and jersey number, is meant to help "active individuals cook many of the same delicious meals Brady will be eating."
- The recipes will be gluten-free and have lots of protein. TB12 Performance Meals will not have any dairy, eggs, seafood, meat and processed meats, and will limit the use of soy and refined sugars. A sample meal includes white lentil risotto with winter roasted vegetable, meyer lemon and cashew gremolata.
- Consumers will pay $13 per plate, or $78 per week for three dinners that serve two people each. Orders will start shipping in early April.
Dive Insight:
NFL quarterback Tom Brady is the latest high-profile celebrity to attach his name to a food endorsement, and after winning his fifth Super Bowl in February, his public profile may be as valuable as it will ever be. Brady's endorsement could be the boost Purple Carrot needs stand out in an increasingly crowded home-delivery meal space populated by better-known names such as Blue Apron and HelloFresh.
Brady isn’t the first celebrity to target the dinner table. Earlier this year, former talk show host Oprah Winfrey and food manufacturing giant Kraft Heinz created Mealtime Stories, a venture aimed at designing a new line of food "that will make real, nutritious products more accessible to everyone." The line will focus on ready-to-eat, refrigerated food products.
It remains to be seen, however, whether consumers will embrace the Brady-inspired foods. At $13 a plate, the meals are more expensive than the average home-cooked meal, which comes in at around $4. Moreover, despite the growing interest in proteins, it’s uncertain how many people will gravitate toward the plants used in Brady meals to deliver protein, as opposed to more popular protein sources like eggs, meats and seafood. Another obstacle could be public adoption of meal delivery services: A study released in 2016 by NPD Group found fewer people are using meal kit services than previously thought, with only 3% of adults using those delivery services within the past year.
Brady may bring increased visibility to and help boost sales of TB12 Performance Meals and other Purple Carrot foods, but it’s unclear if it will be enough to offset the challenges facing the crowded meal-kit delivery category.