
US confectioner Hershey and its California-based chocolate maker, Scharffen Berger, are entering the online meal kit market in partnership with web-based retailer Chef’d, in what the firms said is a first for branded desserts.
Chef’d said the move offers the opportunity of buying desserts kits from Hershey’s Kitchens and the Scharffen Berger brand online.
Hershey’s e-commerce and emerging channels manager Carrie Lathrop said: “We’re pleased to partner with Chef’d to be the first to bring branded desserts to the meal kit market. The rise of the meal kit market is undeniable – boxes provide unprecedented convenience while maintaining the engaging experience of home baking.”
Chef’d founder and CEO Kyle Ransford said Hershey’s decision was “trend setting… and we think others are going to follow”.
Citing data from US investment bank Piper Jaffray published in June, Chef’d said the home meal kit market is “expected to grow to US$36bn over the next ten years”. It added the partnership with Hershey “provides a new and innovative distribution channel” for the confectioner’s portfolio of brands “that aligns with the shifting ways in which people shop and cook”.
Hershey’s Kitchens and Scharffen Berger Brand dessert meal kits can also be ordered on HersheysKitchens.com and Scharffenberger.com without the need for a subscription or membership fees. Recipes can be ordered as “standalone offerings or in conjunction with any Chef’d meal”, Chef’d said. Recipes include Hershey’s Kitchens’ S’mores Cookies, Hershey’s Kitchens’ Red Velvet Cream Cheese Squares, Scharffen Berger’s Flourless Chocolate Raspberry Torte and Scharffen Berger’s Unbelievable Fudgy Brownies.

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