Meal Kits in Canada: Improving Health and Wellness

Meal Kits in Canada

In many ways, our lives revolve around eating. We plan elaborate dinner parties focused on food and drink. We eat for emotional reasons. Food has a way of satisfying us that few other things in life can approach. Food and the way we obtain it are also evolving continually.

The first supermarket did not debut until the 1930s. Prior to that, local markets were the rule. Individual vendors – farmers and bakers and butchers and candy makers all sold their own foods. Grocery stores and supermarkets revolutionized the way we purchase foods, making it easier and less time consuming for us to buy what we needed. They also help to make it easier to find healthful foods by supplying fresher vegetables and fruit, fresh bread, and more.

Today, meal kits are the next step in the evolution of how we eat and where we obtain our foots. The best meal kits offer solutions to critical challenges that face today’s generations, including:

• A lack of cooking knowledge
• An inability to source healthful foods
• Difficulty in pairing sides with main dishes
• Adequate balance on the plate between protein, carbs, fiber, etc.

Changing the Way We Eat

In December 2017, Huffington Post and Canadian Press published a news article that highlighted how Canadian cooking habits and meal planning were changing thanks to the rise of meal kits. The story highlighted several reasons for the growth of meal kits into an industry worth $120 million at the time (it has since grown significantly higher).

Some of the reasons that meal kits are becoming more popular include the fact that all meals come pre-portioned. We have come to view portions as being much larger than they should actually be, thanks in large part to restaurants and the wider food industry trying to give more value. While bigger portions might seem like a good thing, the trend has actually led to a number of negatives, including expanding waistlines as we continually overeat at each meal.

Another reason that meal kits are increasingly popular is that not only does everything arrive pre-portioned and ready for cooking, but with the instructions you need to cook up a delicious meal, even if you’ve never spent any time in the kitchen at all. For a generation that grew up with little actual in-home cooking experience or instruction, that can build confidence and foster the ability to take control over their diet.

The Millennial Shift

If you break down the meal kit trend by consumer demographics, you’ll find that relatively few Baby Boomers buy these kits. The same is true for most of Gen X. Millennials, on the other hand, have embraced meal kits for their ability to help improve their health and wellness. Millennials are exceptionally health conscious, to the point of spending more money on health and fitness-related items than anything else.

In fact, Sanford Health actually calls Millennials the “wellness generation”, and goes on to explain that, “With the exception of family, Millennials value health the most. In a recent study, 79 percent said family was important in their lives, followed by health and wellness at 53 percent, friends at 39 percent, spirituality at 31 percent and career at 27 percent.”

Healthy meal kits fall right into the pattern, as healthy food is not cheap, nor are meal kits.

The Reality of Health for Today’s Filipino-Canadians

Today’s Filipino-Canadians face unprecedented health challenges. Many are overweight or even obese. This comes with an increased risk of many other lifestyle related diseases, such as:

• Hypertension
• Diabetes
• Coronary artery disease
• Stroke

Meal kits show significant promise for Filipinos struggling with diet-related health issues, as well as for those fighting many non-diet-related health problems. Because meal kits offer proportioned meals, there is a greatly reduced chance of overeating. Additionally, meal kits provide the right proportion of protein, carbs, vegetables, fiber, and more, helping make it simpler to follow a balanced diet that delivers all the vitamins and nutrients the human body needs and fewer things it doesn’t.

In Conclusion

Ultimately, the Canadian meal kit industry is growing by leaps and bounds. Not only does it offer convenience, but also the promise of improved health and greater control over our diets.