Meal delivery company Youfoodz and Coles have expanded their partnership with Youfoodz meals now available in all 820 Coles supermarkets Australia-wide.
Youfoodz CEO Lance Giles said the company’s goal was to be the most accessible ready-made meal on the domestic market and this was a big step towards that. Its mission was to create a food future where every Australian could access fresh, affordable and delicious meals.
Youfoodz is stocked in over 3000 stores across Australia including a smaller existing range with Coles and IGA, Foodworks, Night Owl, Drakes Supermarkets, Woolworths, SPAR and BP.
COVID-19 saw an increase in the company’s business by around 30 per cent during its peak. It added grocery and fruit and vegetable boxes to its mix at the time.
Coles general manager for Fresh Convenience, Dairy and Freezer Charlotte Rhodes said the supermarket was responding to customer feedback for quick and easy meal options made from quality ingredients.
Rhodes said: “Our research also found that one in three customers don’t have the time to cook from scratch and 52 per cent are not interested in cooking more at home, with chopping and cutting regarded as their biggest pain points with meal prep.
“Since COVID-19, we have seen a growing demand for Australian restaurant-quality food that won’t break the bank and provides healthier alternatives to fast food.
“To cater to this increasing demand for restaurant-quality meals at home, we have transformed our ‘Food to Go’ department and launched our biggest-ever range of homestyle convenience meals to make life easier for customers.”
In March Chef Fresh, a wholly owned subsidiary of Coles Group, bought Jewel Fine Foods, which was one of the two major suppliers of chilled ready meals in Australia. It had gone into voluntary Administration in April 2019.
Since then Coles has added around 100 ready meals and side dishes under its Coles Kitchen brand.
