Social Enterprise at Kellogg (SEEK) > Extra Curricular Activities > The Carol and Larry Levy Social Entrepreneurship Lab > Kellogg's Social Entrepreneurs > Fresh Takes Kitchen

Fresh Takes Kitchen

 

Fresh Takes Kitchen is a for-profit social venture that improves health in low income communities by making fresh, wholesome meals affordable and accessible.

60% of Americans are overweight, and 80% have diets below the USDA’s nutritional guidelines – leading to an incremental $147B in annual US healthcare-related costs. None of the recent health and sustainability trends target lower income communities, those with the most limited resources and with disproportionately poor health. We met with these individuals to understand their challenges. They all wanted healthier diets. Limited resources, however, forced them to rely heavily on prepared meals, and they lacked access to affordable, wholesome options.

Fresh Takes Kitchen addresses this market gap. We are a meal subscription service that brings affordable, quality options to lower income customers by innovating across primary cost drivers:
  • Sourcing: Meals are simple, with a small number of affordable, nutritious ingredients.
  • Production: Fresh Takes is a subscription service - customers sign up to receive up to five meals each week, providing predictable demand, eliminating costs associated with overproduction and waste, and establishing recurring revenue. Customers select their meals from a limited set of options, minimizing weekly variety and allowing us to order ingredients in bulk.
  • Sales and Distribution: Fresh Takes partners with health-focused community organizations such as churches, schools, and YMCAs. These partners market our service to their members and support weekly meal distribution to Fresh Takes customers within their membership base, significantly reducing customer acquisition and delivery costs.

Fresh Takes Kitchen is a proven, scalable, and profitable business model. This is critical to our mission of serving as a powerful proof point that under-resourced communities demand healthy options, thereby spurring greater nationwide innovation to bring good food to these markets. A three-week pilot with the McGaw YMCA allowed us to validate demand, pricing, partnership strategy and unit profitability. With initial award funding secured as the inaugural winners of the Kellogg Social Entrepreneurship Award and winners of the 2012 KIN Global Prize, we are excited to be launching Fresh Takes Kitchen full-time this summer in our first market of Denver, Colorado.

To learn more, visit our blog: www.freshtakeskitchen.com.

Contact us: Saloni Doshi (sdoshi2012@kellogg.northwestern.edu) and Chelsea Katz (ckatz2012@kellogg.northwestern.edu)