We’re very close to getting a one-stop-shop when it comes to cooking meals, thanks to a powerful new partnerships between Innit (the popular app that helps you plan personalized meals and gives you video instructions for not screwing them up) and Chef’d (the meal kit and ingredient store that offers more options than Blue Apron or Hello Fresh).
Here’s how it works: Let’s say you have a jones for some tasty steak au poivre with roasted rosemary potatoes and green beans after seeing the recipe pop up on your Innit app. Poke a button, choose a delivery date, and checkout with Apple Pay or a credit card, and Chef’d will wrap up a New York strip steak, some peppercorns, fingerling potatoes, and assorted garnishes, and ship them right to your door.
Once the ingredients arrive, foodies can simply scan a QR code right on the package to bring up Innit’s “Culinary GPS” video guidance to help them make their sweet steak dinner. The system is designed to put the cooking process in the most efficient model so all the meal portions are ready at the same time. It’s not exactly cheap — that fancy steak dinner will set you back $32 for couple’s night or $62 for a family dinner — but it’s still far more economical than eating out, plus the app helps save on prep time by providing premeasured ingredients.
“We’re excited to be pioneering the next evolution of the meal kit industry through our partnership with Chef’d,” said Eugenio Minvielle, founder and president of Innit. “Our personalized, customizable meal content and guided cooking system are a perfect fit with Chef’d’s high-quality meal solutions. We’re looking forward to bringing a new level of confidence and simplicity to the kitchen.”
It’s a pretty big deal for two meal-based innovations that have been growing like wildfire. Chef’d was only launched in April 2015, and has already set up profitable partnerships with the likes of Coca-Cola, Hershey’s, and Campbell’s, and is starting to roll out its offerings in retail stores. Innit was founded in 2013 and has already raised nearly $50 million in venture capital, as well as lucrative integrations with smart home manufacturers including GE smart appliances, Bosch smart ovens, and Philips kitchen appliances.
Along with the launch of the Chef’d partnership, Innit has also launched a comprehensive update to its meal planning experience. Chef’d meals are available immediately for Innit on iOS, and will be available within the month on Android. The app also makes use of location-based preferences to help customers plan their meals, shop at local markets, and prepare more complex meals. Innit is also highly customizable and can be personalized for different members of a household based on diet, allergies and dislikes. Chef’d, meanwhile, can be ordered on the fly with Amazon Alexa as well.
