Amidst the rising cost of living, it’s clear that dinner time isn’t all it’s stacked up to be.
Bargain Box by My Food Bag’s new Dinner Time Check-In research1 has revealed more than half of Kiwi parents are feeling overwhelmed by the time, cost, and hassle of preparing a meal for their family.
So, to help families fight the cost of living crisis and budget for the food they want to feed their kids, Bargain Box has committed to a price freeze on all its meal kits until at least November 2023.
The doom and gloom of dinner time
While most parents can’t wait to knock off from work, get the kids to bed and put their feet up, there is clearly one roadblock standing in the way of what would otherwise be a relaxing evening, and that is – yep, you guessed it – dinner!
With the price of groceries now through the roof and Kiwi parents short on time, it’s no secret that dinner time has gone from being something parents look forward to, to something they dread.
For more than two thirds of Kiwi parents, food bills have increased by $50 to $149. As a result, they’re having to make financial sacrifices, both with their food shop (95%) and changes to lifestyle (63%), just so they can put dinner on the table for their family.
This includes everything from swapping out what meat they’re buying (21%), reducing the amount of meat they buy (34%), and only buying discounted items (25%).
Here’s a way to combat the rising cost of living…
Feel confident in your food budget
Bargain Box’s price freeze gives Kiwi parents certainty with meal prep and budgeting. This means they can feed their family a variety of healthy and nutritious meals – which is what almost half of Kiwi parents said was one of the most important things when deciding what to cook for dinner.
As New Zealand’s most affordable meal kit – ranging from 8% to 35% more affordable2 than the nearest meal-kit competitor – the price freeze is an important move from Bargain Box, in helping support Kiwi families during a challenging time.
Bargain Box is regularly reviewing its prices, and in a review done between January and March 2023, found that Bargain Box was on average 4.44% cheaper than Countdown and New World delivery options for a like-for-like basket. This comes in at an average of $7.02 per week, which is $77.22 across that period3.
Everything you need delivered to your doorstep
Nine in ten Kiwi parents reportedly spend up to 300 hours a year planning, shopping for, and cooking dinner. That’s up to six hours a week – almost equivalent to one full day in a 9-5 job!
With Bargain Box, there’s no more last-minute frantic trips to the supermarket, or hours spent with your head in an old recipe book – all your meal planning is done for you.
Bargain Box delivers ingredients directly to your door, helping Kiwis save on fuel, time and even food waste. All you have to do is choose the number of nights, how many you’re feeding, and select from a range of recipes.
With a variety of up to 15 different recipes each week, there’s plenty to choose from – family favourites, Kiwi classics, super quick and flexitarian options – to help feed families a variety of healthy and nutritious dinners. It even provides locally sourced, good quality produce and meat in a range of delicious recipes.
It’s time to ditch the doom and gloom and bring the spark back into dinner time!
- The Bargain Box Dinner Time Check-In research was carried out in February 2023, and surveyed 600 Kiwi parents from across New Zealand who have children living at home.
- Comparison made between major New Zealand meal kit providers using website everyday prices on 11 April 2023.
- Prices compared across 11 weeks, between 15th January and 26 March 2023. On average, Bargain Box was 4.44% cheaper, including delivery. This data was reviewed by NZIER in April 2023.
