HEALTHY-MEAL SUBSCRIPTIONS INDIAN MARKET EDITION

Subscriptions. The term typically brings a Netflix-type pop-up to one's mind. However, it's bigger than that. Subscription-based business models are a successful tried-and-tested thing of the west but are still a relatively newer concept in India. One form of subscription model sprouting in India is the healthy-meal subscription.

-  PAROMITA GUPTA

The Meal Kit Subscription market was valued at $3,732.8 Million in 2022, and is projected to reach $13,757.7 Million by 2032. Source: Apollo Research Reports

Meal subscription platforms regularly cater to your health-conscious dietary needs at an affordable price. Users, in a standard course of action, are required to select the meal time (breakfast, lunch, snack, or dinner) and the subscription duration after availing of a free trial. Apollo Research Report, in its industry report titled 'The Exponential Growth in Meal Kit Subscription Market' shared that the healthy-meal subscription market is valued at $3,732.8 million in 2022 and is expected to touch $13,757.7 million by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 14%.

The Untapped Opportunity

As per Tracxn, a market intelligence platform, there are 25 startups in the meal subscription segment. Price and time are the biggest points why someone should opt for meal subscriptions. The biggest advantage meal subscription startups have over cloud kitchens and food aggregators is the pricing of their packages and deals. Since such platforms utilise every resource available, they try not to pressurise consumer pockets. For instance, since aggregators such as Swiggy and Zomato receive orders on request and need to deliver them in a stipulated period, they follow a one-rider-one order system. And the consumer ends up paying INR 30-70 more for the delivery charges. Whereas startups such as Sprink, a Bangalore-based venture, work on an efficient model where one rider is required to make a good number of deliveries, such as 50-100.