Cook It Yourself

By George Anderson

Imagine being able to step into the kitchen and find all the ingredients you need to make a meal have been preassembled for you.

Then imagine finishing the meal preparation while somebody else does the dishes.

If your imagination hasn’t been stretched too far then you’re familiar with the concept of a new takeout service in Wichita, Kansas called Simple Suppers To Go.

Co-owners Marilyn Akin and Michelle Collins offer customers 12 different entrée options with the menu changing on a monthly basis. Customers reserve two-hour slots to
prepare meals that can be eaten when brought home or frozen for another day.

With 32 franchises around the country, Dream Dinners, based in Snohomish, Wash., offers a similar service to consumers.

Tina Kuna of Dream Dinners told the Wichita Business Journal, “I think … we’ve gotten away from sitting down around the dinner table and talking. Our goal is to get
people to be able to sit down at the dinner table up to three nights a week to reconnect and find out what’s going on in your kids’ lives.”

Moderator’s Comment: What are your thoughts on cook it yourself services such as Dream Dinners and Simple Suppers
To Go?

As the previous story on FMI’s Trends in the United States: Consumer Attitudes & the Supermarket, 2004, pointed out, the one thing we’re willing
to spend more for is free time. We particularly appreciate the not having to clean up part, which often takes longer than the actual meal preparation in today’s meal assembly
environment.

George Anderson – Moderator

BrainTrust

Discussion Questions

Poll

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