The operator of ready-meal corners “Milti” launched the delivery of food rations

Trying to expand their business, food service market participants are testing new formats in related areas. Thus, the operator of ready-made food corners “Milti” launched the delivery of food rations. Experts believe that the chain has a chance to take a significant share in the segment, but this will require investment in marketing and development of the product line. Now Milti’s offer is cheaper than comparable products from competitors. But the latter have options for budget programs that Milti does not have.

A separate tab has appeared on the website of the operator of corners and stores with ready meals “Milti”, where, based on the calculation of daily calorie content, you can collect rations for three days and order their delivery, Kommersant noted. The company told Kommersant that the new functionality was launched in early March.

Considering that Milti has production capacity, the moment to enter the related segment “was chosen very well and there are good chances to take a significant share,” says Olga Pashkova, senior analyst at Data Insight. It is much more profitable to deliver an order for three days – this allows you to increase the profitability of one transaction, facilitates planning and reduces the number of errors and failures, adds RestCon CEO Elena Perepelitsa. The founder of Shefmarket, Sergei Ashin, believes that Milti will be able to “strengthen its online sales” in this way.

Franshiza.ru expert Anna Rozhdestvenskaya believes that if Milty “does not expand into other niches, such as sports nutrition,” the company will be able to sell diets to its audience without major marketing expenses. At the same time, the founder of Elementaree, Olga Zinovieva, doubts that the new channel will be successful “without marketing and product transformation.”

General Director of Infoline-Analytics Mikhail Burmistrov says that the company will have to invest, among other things, in reducing prices so that consumers purchase a subscription for a longer period. In his opinion, it will be difficult for a new player to compete with Performance Group and Grow Food, which have their own large production complexes, a loyal customer base, actively invest in marketing and offer a wide range of food lines in various price segments, including budget ones.

The average cost of rations for a one-month subscription “Reception” (an independent brand from Grow Food) and “Simply” (a Performance Group brand) does not exceed 10 thousand rubles, as follows from the data on the websites. If you buy three-day rations from Milti for a whole month at an average price of 2.5–2.8 thousand rubles, then it will cost more than competitors. At the same time, for example, a six-day diet from Grow Food is more expensive than the offer from Milti – about 7 thousand rubles.

Mr. Burmistrov also notes that the food ration delivery market is complex and it is important not only to produce food, but also to take into account the needs of the main audience – people who lead a sports lifestyle and adhere to a healthy diet. Not all operators’ attempts to enter the segment were successful. The expert cites the example of the health food chain Prime, which unsuccessfully tried to deliver rations.

The market for the delivery of food rations and meal kits may recover after the fall by the end of 2024. This year, Infoline expects, total player sales will increase by at least 10% year on year, to 16 billion rubles. (See “Kommersant” dated March 4). According to analysts, in 2021 the turnover of this market was 16.4 billion rubles. In 2022, the figure decreased by 4%, to 15.7 billion rubles, and in 2023 it decreased by 7.6%, to 14.5 billion rubles. year to year.

Sergey Ashin also expects a counter-movement: that market players who traditionally work online will go offline, where Milti is widely represented. Grow Food has already begun selling its products in Magnit stores, notes Mikhail Burmistrov. Magnit told Kommersant that they are testing lines of budget ready-made meals from different suppliers, including Grow Food. The chain says comparable sales of culinary products at its stores grew 22% year-over-year in 2023.

Daria Andrianova