Tasty meal kits to enterprising home cooks

Open Farm manager Chris, who moved into the food delivery business when the farm destination was shuttered by the lockdown, is responding to the continuing demand for easy cook home meal kits. The new ‘Meals by Moo’ home cookery kits feature locally sourced ingredients and come with easy step-by-step cooking guide. The quality meal kits are the result of extensive customer research which showed local people are very keen on convenient food ideas to cook at home.

The initiative is similar to Hello Fresh which along with other UK home delivery companies currently supply more than 5,000 meal kits to households in NI. Moo to You is already tapping into this market by offering a local delivery service, using local produce from local suppliers.

Chris, along with business development manager Stephen Lynn, a former Flybe pilot who lost his job before the first lockdown, are confident in the success of the new customer service from the growth in popularity of the Moo to You fresh food delivery service over the last 12 months.

Chris says: “Our original Moo to You delivery service has gone from strength to strength and has fuelled the interest among customers in a meal kit service.

Feedback from customers led us to introduce the Meals by Moo ready meal kits which are prepared at our state-of-the-art kitchen in Dundonald. It’s already proving a huge success.

“What makes them so popular, I believe, is our dependence on fresh ingredients that are locally sourced from quality Northern Irish producers. This approach uses minimal packaging and reduces food miles as deliveries are made by our team of drivers and not couriered by air from Great Britain. Not only is this much better for the environment but it also means we can deliver at a very competitive price.

“Meals by Moo also offers convenience and flexibility. We do not employ a subscription service like other home food delivery companies, meaning customers can order what they want, when they want and it will be delivered directly to their doorstep. Our hope is that the simple to follow meal kit instructions will help retain, enhance and expand our loyal customer base.”

Examples of Meals by Moo meal kits include Thai Green Curry and Garlic and Herb Chicken.

The farm-based business employs 10 staff and operates from its hub at Streamvale Farm in Dundonald. A fleet of vans deliver food and now meal kits to households across Northern Ireland

Chris and wife Helen came up with the farm-to-door food delivery service as a response to the pandemic threat to the Open Farm and its employees.  The lockdown led Chris initially to furlough 10 employees. The success of the initiative enabled him to reinstate posts and even create new jobs. The recruits include three pilots laid off because of the collapse of air travel and the grounding of hundreds of passenger jets in the UK and Ireland.

Moo to You began delivering dairy products, subsequently expanded its fresh product home delivery service to include more than 100 locally sourced items such as artisan breads and baked treats, vegetables and fruit, eggs, beef and bacon, fish and fresh Streamvale ice cream from the farm to homes throughout NI.

It’s the only farm-based home delivery service covering the entire province.

Chris explains: “I had seen a television report about a shortage of milkmen during the pandemic. I then spoke to Dale Farm and they were very keen to support us and to supply additional products such as butter, cheese and yoghurt for our delivery service.

“We were completely surprised by the flood of calls from people who were either self-isolating or fearful about having to go out to shop because of the virus and the likelihood of long queues at supermarkets. Many people were also worried about food shortages in supermarkets because of panic buying.”

The meal kit business was based on the open farm’s vast experience in providing fresh food from local suppliers from its successful café on the farm which had also been shuttered due to the lockdown.

The entrepreneurial business started with one van and now has five refrigerated vehicles on the road delivering through a network of routes to hundreds of homes throughout Northern Ireland. Seven new jobs have also been created. Customers now order from a new online site for speedy delivery.

Chris aims to continue the delivery services beyond the pandemic. “We’ve built up an immensely loyal customer base who are able to select food and drink from our range of upwards of 110 products,” he continues. “They are now able to order prepared meals for cooking at home.”

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