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The Food Issue
2016
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cities in February. These services are currently being piloted in
the Toronto area, but have not yet made their way into Western
Canada.
“Canada is a market where people aren’t used to buying
food online. If you look around at other places around the
world, online food purchasing is the way that things are going,”
Bourree said. “Online purchases account for more than 20 per
cent of all food purchased in the U.K., 23 per cent in Korea and
more than 15 per cent in New York City. We [at SPUD] believe
it’s a growing trend that will continue into the future.”
With major food retailers entering this once-niche space,
people like Turner are optimistic that their hyper-local
connection between farmers and consumers will sustain them.
The Organic Box’s operations have also recently diversified to
include food processing and distribution.
“In our direct-to-consumer business, we are feeling the
challenge of major retailers coming in, but we are up to the
challenge because we know our products and service stand
apart,” Turner said. “We have expanded our model to include
selling to major retailers, so it’s still an opportunity for us.”
THE EVOLUTIONOF CONVENIENCE FOOD
As food purchasing and delivery options diversify, so do
the offerings available to consumers. Chef’s Plate in Toronto
offers gourmet meal kits for delivery anywhere in Ontario.
Consumers are able to order from a menu of meal options,
and receive a box filled with prepared and portioned fresh
ingredients. At $10.95 per portion, the service provides
quick, fresh, healthy and affordable alternatives to restaurant
or ready-to-heat meals.
“As food evolves, everything is getting broader and more
personal at the same time,” said Calgary-based food and
restaurant writer John Gilchrist. “Twenty years ago, you went
to the grocery store or you went out to eat. Now you can
go online to order grilled salmon with watercress, and all
ingredients will be delivered to the door tomorrow.”
The Chef’s Plate model builds on the success of companies
like Blue Apron, which delivers three million meals per month
across the United States, and HelloFresh, which surpassed four
million meals per month in mid-2015. Chef’s Plate won’t talk dates
for any forays into markets beyondOntario, but the company is
expected to expand to other parts of Canada later in 2016.
“On the whole, it’s about the diversification of the industry.
People find niches that will fill other people’s desires and they
go for it. It helps broaden our palate a bit because we end
up trying different things,” Gilchrist said of the food-delivery
business model. “The way our economy is right now, I don’t
know how well they are doing. At the other end of the scale, we
have community kitchens that are trying to help people learn
how to cook and prepare value-focused meals.”
Aside from the convenience factor, ready-to-assemble meals
offer an intermediate step for people who want to get more
familiar with cooking techniques or who want to learn to work
with different ingredients. “We are not necessarily taught to
cook by our mothers and grandmothers anymore, and we don’t
always teach it in schools, so many people don’t really know
how to cook,” Hall said.
“A lot of people say ‘I don’t have time to go shopping’ or ‘I
don’t have time to look for these things.’ If it was brought to
their door and they had enough confidence to put it together,
more food delivery will result in more people wanting fresh,
healthy food.”
LOCAL CONNECTIONS:
Danny and Miranda Turner, co-founders of The Organic Box,
designed their service as a virtual farmers market, linking consumers with 75 growers and
producers across Western Canada. Photo: The Organic Box.