Will Meal Kits Save The Frozen Aisle?

There is little doubt that one of the hottest trends these days is the over abundance and variety in meal kits. But there is a new spin, putting frozen fish and the other ingredients in the freezer section of supermarkets.

The Boulder, Colo.-based startup, Love The Wild, wants to make it easier to cook fish at home and more environmentally sustainable to raise; and may well lead the supermarket industry into an entirely new offering!

Yes, chains like Publix have been doing “meal kits” for years, putting all the necessary ingredients in a bag, attaching a recipe card and making it easy for shoppers to decide “what’s for dinner” – but to the best of our knowledge, this is the first frozen foray – and the first for seafood.

Love the Wild’s founder and CEO  Jacqueline Claudia told FoodNavigator-USA that Americans eat less fish than any other country, even though our doctors tell us to eat more fish for myriad health benefits and “sustainability experts tell us to eat more fish” because it is the most efficient animal protein to produce. She also points out, as many before her have, that there is lack of innovation in the frozen fish case and a lack of understanding of the fresh fish case.

The meal kits include one or two individually flash frozen fillets of sustainable fish from suppliers that she knows and has vetted, along with instructions on how to wrap the fish and sauce in the included parchment paper and bake in the oven. One example?  Barramundi fish with mango Sriracha chutney sauce.

Claudia wants people to eat more fish, and learn more about fish. “We just don’t have the fresh water or land available to keep growing animal protein the way we do today,” she told Food Navigator, adding that “fish and aquaculture, or fish farming, is the answer.” 

While I have little doubt she will accomplish both, the idea of a frozen meal kit may have even more of an impact.