American grocery store chain Albertsons Companies will buy meal kit startup Plated for an undisclosed price, in a move to attract more customers to its stores.
The acquisition of the New York City based food tech company, founded in 2012, will allow Albertsons to provide omnichannel meal kit service at national scale.
Albertsons, which already operates 2,300 stores across the US, will add the meal kit service with technology and data capabilities.
Albertsons Companies chairman and CEO Bob Miller said: “With Plated, we’ve found a partner who shares our commitment to delicious, affordable food; superior technology and innovation; and world class customer service.
“Plated knows its customers better than anyone, and together we will accelerate our ability to serve them. We are excited to offer our customers more online options and fresh, quality ingredients along with distinctive recipes at their doorstep or through traditional shopping trips.”
Albertsons and Plated will leverage each other’s diverse and complementary strengths to meet the changing lifestyles and food choices of consumers in the country.
The acquisition will give Plated access to the resources and national footprint of Albertsons to scale its business and expand its offerings. It is also expected help Plated to increase its existing subscription through the thousands of Albertsons stores, digital channels among others.
Plated co-founder and CEO Josh Hix said: “Joining Albertsons Companies presents an amazing opportunity to accelerate our positive impact on the future of food in America by making fresh, delicious food more widely available.
“Albertsons Cos. is at the forefront of the changing food and grocery landscape with their customer obsession, their large national store footprint, and their exciting plans for the future of the grocery store.”
Post acquisition, Plated will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the grocery store company but will retain its distinct consumer brand and its headquarters in New York City.
The acquisition comes following Amazon.com's $13.7bn acquisition of Whole Foods Market.
