It seems like the two concepts are fundamentally at cross purposes: Meal kits, like those offered by Blue Apron, are to make cooking easier, while restaurants let you focus entirely on the eating. Yet by the end of the summer, one fast food chain will be getting in on the goods.
If you're a fan of antibiotic-free chicken (if not controversy), you're in luck. On Aug. 27, Chick-Fil-A plans to roll out five different take-home meal kits available for purchase in Atlanta-area stores. You don't have to sign up for anything, and you don't have to go inside to pick them up. The kits can be purchased in line, at a drive-through window, and even ordered through the chain's app.
The offerings aren't available as items you can get from your local franchise's kitchen, but they do use the same ingredients, pre-measured for buyers. The portions are for two people, and one meal will cost about $16. You'll be able to choose from chicken parmesan, chicken enchiladas, Dijon chicken, pan-roasted chicken, and chicken flatbread. If all that sounds mouth-watering but you're not an Atlanta metro resident, just hang tight: Should this pilot program prove successful, Chick-Fil-A plans to expand it starting in November.
Meals kits as a product are in a strange state of flux right now. While big players like Walmart and Kroger are getting in the game too, meal kit startups aren't getting off the ground to the extent investors may have anticipated. Still, we're all busy, and anything that lets people save time while still feeling empowered is likely to have some kind of future.