New Player Baldor Enters Meal Kit Game

Another day, another new meal kit option joins the billion-dollar industry. This one is made by New York-based Baldor Specialty Foods, and it’s different because it doesn’t ask consumers to make any commitments by signing up for a subscription.

Rather, customers can pick up the Urban Roots Veggie Side Kits for $8 in the produce department at grocery and specialty markets in the Northeast. Stocking the kits in a retail setting saves on packaging and shipping expenses that can drive up prices for mail delivery meal kits. It also creates flexibility at the point of purchase that mail order meal kit subscriptions simply can’t offer.

The kits are plant-based, healthy meal companions made fresh in-store daily and are large enough to serve as a side dish for two or to comprise a meal for one. Preparation involves little or no chopping and can be done in as little as three minutes, Fresh Plaza reported, using just a single pot or pan — which saves on cleanup time and resources, too.

“We wanted to make quick, easy and good-for-you meal solutions available to consumers everywhere through traditional retail outlets,” said Benjamin Walker, Baldor’s senior director of marketing and development.

Baldor Specialty Foods is starting its Urban Roots meal kit journey with three cauliflower-based offerings: Chili Cilantro Cauliflower Rice, Tabouli Style Cauliflower Rice and Moroccan Spiced Cauliflower Rice.

Baldor Specialty Foods sources ingredients for some of New York City’s top chefs, Fresh Plaza noted, so the store-made meal kits are sure to contain similarly high-quality ingredients.

The company began as a fruit stand in Greenwich Village in 1946, and its goal has always been to curate and deliver the best and freshest foods in the world. Baldor is one of the largest importers and distributors of fresh produce and specialty foods in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.