Meal Kits - Digital Marketing 2021

Digital Marketing Performances
of Top Meal Kit Brands
in Sweden
Daniel Burman (burman.daniel.e@gmail.com)
Joel Andersson Eneberg (joel.anderssoneneberg@gmail.com)
Johan Brishammar (brishammar@gmail.com)
Kajsa Djurfeldt (kajsa.djurfeldt@gmail.com)
Supervised by Burak Tunca (burak.tunca@fek.lu.se)
Lund University 2021

Table of Contents
01. Introduction
3
Why study meal kits 4
Brands in the study 5
03. Results
10
Search Engine Optimization 11
Functional UX 17
Creative UX 22
Social Media 26
02. Methodology
8
Ranking method 9
04. Ranking and Conclusion
35
Final Ranking 36
A Recipe to Improve Digital Marketing 39
2

01
Introduction
3

Why Meal kit brands?
We witnessed an unprecedented growth of online shopping in
Sweden in 2020. In particular, online grocery shopping, which
was lagging behind other categories for years, exploded last
year with 95% increase.
Now as the consumers are getting more comfortable with
online grocery shopping, meal kit companies need to step up
their digital marketing. In this report, we evaluate which meal
kit brands are leading in digital marketing, and which brands
have room to improve.
95%
In 2020 online grocery
sales increased by 95%
in Sweden
https://www.postnord.se/vara-losningar/e-handel/e-handelsrapporter/e-barometern
1.6%
30%
1 in 8
43%
of all grocery sales in
Sweden take place online.
of all grocery sold online is
meal kits purchases.
Source: https://dhandel.se/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/digitalmathandel-2018.pdf
of Swedes purchase
grocery online.
of Swedes between 18-45
say they will increase online
grocery purchases.
4

BRANDS IN THE STUDY
In this study, we focus on ten prominent meal kit brands in the Swedish market. The
brands are selected based on the criteria below and are presented subsequently.
The company needs to sell meal kits
defined as deliveries of ingredients tailored to a menu for customers to prepare and cook at home.
Meal kits must be the primary focus of the company
not used as supplement for other business, in order to ensure fair comparisons.
The meal kit service must be available in all of Sweden
in order to ensure similar levels of digital marketing competences.
The company needs to been established in Sweden prior to 2020
to have a yearly financial report available.
The company must have a minimum turnover of 5 000 000 SEK year 2019
in order to ensure focus on the most established and relevant companies.
5

Est. 2007
Est. 2009 Est. 2012
Est. 2011
(2019 in Sweden)
Est. 2008
ecoviva.se
familyfood.se
gastrofy.se
hellofresh.se
linasmatkasse.se
BRANDS IN THE STUDY
Veckans
middag
Est. 2009 Est. 2007 Est. 2014
Est. 2010 Est. 1999
(2018 in Sweden)
(2004 in Sweden)
matochro.se
middagsfrid.se
simplefeast.com/se
veckansmiddag.se
arstiderna.se
6

Turnover of Selected Brands
Linas Matkasse is by far the largest company in the Swedish meal kit
market, and it accounts for 73% of the turnover generated by the ten
brands in this report.
This discrepancy shows that smaller meal kit brands cannot
outspend the competition; they need to outsmart the big players with
clever low-cost high-return marketing campaigns.
7

02
Methodology
8

Ranking method
We evaluated digital marketing performances
of the ten meal kit brands in our study under
four categories:
●
●
●
●
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Functional User Experience
Creative User Experience
Social Media
SEO
Authority Score (10p)
Mobile Pagespeed (10p)
On-page Optimization (10p)
30 points
100
points
Social Media
Instagram (10p)
Facebook (10p)
YouTube (5p)
25 points
Based on 11 different metrics under those
themes, each brand’s performance was
measured on a 100-point scale and then
brands were ranked to identify top performers.
To obtain scores for each metric, we used 3 rd
party data sources or collected the data
manually. We did not use data provided by the
brands.
Functional UX
Credibility (5p)
Mobile Compatibility (10p)
Usability (10p)
25 points
Creative UX
Desirability (10p)
Simplicity (10p)
20 points
9

03
Results
10

Search Engine Optimization
11

Authority Score
Simple Feast
Linas Matkasse
Årstiderna
9
9.4
9.4
Middagsfrid
8.2
Hello Fresh
Ecoviva
6.2
7.6
Backlink to Linas Matkasse webpage from another credible webpage.
Gastrofy
Mat & Ro
Veckans Middag
Family Food
5.8
4.6
4.6
4.4
Backlinks
Diverse backlinks from credible sources increases authority score, which in
turn allows brands to rank higher on search engine results. Simple Feast and
Linas Matkasse benefit heavily from receiving backlinks from other credible
domains like familjeliv.se and popular food blogs.
12

Linas Matkasse receives a
higher authority score thanks
to large number of credible
backlinks to its website.
These brands should focus on
acquiring credible backlinks
Authority Score & Referring Domains
We observe a clear correlation between the amount of referring domains
and authority scores, which help brands compete on the search engine
results page. These results show that several brands have room for
improving their authority scores through credible backlinks to their domains.
13

Mobile Pagespeed
Mat & Ro
6.1
Veckans Middag
4.7
Family Food
4
Simple Feast
4
Linas Matkasse
3.4
Ecoviva
3.2
Middagsfrid
3.2
Hello Fresh
Årstiderna
Gastrofy
3
2.3
1.8
Slow loading speeds
Most meal kit brands underperform when it comes to mobile pagespeed.
Today, most consumers are browsing on mobile platforms, and slow loading
pages might lead to consumers leaving the page without further
engagement with the brand. Moreover, loading speed influences a website’s
ranking on the search engine results page.
14

On-Page Optimization
Search Term matkasse on Google
Keyword in url, meta title and description
Hello Fresh
8.6
Family Food
8.5
Keyword term matkasse mentioned in page header,
subheaders and text.
Simple Feast
8.5
Ecoviva
8.3
Mat & Ro
8.1
Veckans Middag
7.9
Linas Matkasse
Middagsfrid
Årstiderna
Gastrofy
4.6
6.4
6.7
7.7
One page - One keyword
Hello Fresh stands out from the competitors since it has recognized the
benefit of creating a page that is optimized towards one keyword. Gastrofy’s
website contain limited amounts of text content which explains why they
place in the bottom.
15

SEO Scores
| 30p
21.9
20.5
19.2
18.8 18.1
17.7 17.7
17.2 16.9
12.2
16

Functional UX
17

Usability
Gastrofy
9.25
Simple Feast
8.5
Hello Fresh
8
Årstiderna
7.7
Linas Matkasse
7
Middagsfrid
5.75
Mat & Ro
5.25
Veckans Middag
Ecoviva
Family Food
3.25
4.5
4
User friendly
Gastrofy provides simple and fast accessibility to their service
without the need of setting up an account. Repeated and clear
CTAs combined with desirable images and big pushable buttons
simplifies usability on both desktop and mobile.
18

Mobile Compatibility
Gastrofy 8.2
Hello Fresh
7.9
Family Food
7.9
Simple Feast
7.8
Linas Matkasse
7.4
Mat & Ro
6.2
Ecoviva
5.8
Veckans Middag
Middagsfrid
Årstiderna
5.2
5.1
5.1
Responsive Website
Gastrofy’s desktop website experience gives the impression that
everything was built with mobile in mind: to read, acquire information,
and complete a purchase is a seamless experience with clear CTAs and
simple navigation.
19

Credibility
Simple Feast 5
Årstiderna
4.8
Hello Fresh
4.3
Linas Matkasse
3.8
Mat & Ro
3.8
Gastrofy
3.3
Middagsfrid
Ecoviva
Veckans Middag
Family Food
0.3
0.8
1.8
2.8
Trustworthy Website
Simple Feast provides a highly credible website that is simple to use with
security verifications, easily accessible contact details, and information
about the company. It also has a simple check-out and payment process.
Simple Feast integrated a chat function in the bottom right corner available
at all times, which lessens the effort to contact the company.
20

Functional UX Scores
| 25 points
21.3
20.8
20.2
18.2
17.6
15.3
13.7
11.6
11.5
10.5
21

Creative UX
22

Desirability
Årstiderna
9.1
Hello Fresh
8.7
Gastrofy
7.7
Simple Feast
7.5
Middagsfrid
7.2
Linas Matkasse
6.9
Mat & Ro
Veckans Middag
Ecoviva
Family Food
4.5
4.2
5.7
6.2
Attractive website
Årstiderna’s website stands out in visual design with beautiful images,
compelling use of colour, and a clear hierarchical layout. The brand wins this
category with well-written and relevant copy-writing, as well as inspiring
sample menus and recipes.
23

Simplicity
Simple Feast
10
Linas Matkasse
10
Gastrofy
8.6
Hello Fresh
8.6
Middagsfrid
Veckans Middag
8.6
8
Årstiderna
7.4
Mat & Ro
Ecoviva
Family Food
4.6
6
7
Easy to use
Simple Feast provides a simple UX with much empty space,
easy-to-read texts, few options, and a clearly visible CTA above
the fold. The same applies to Linas Matkasse, which also received
the full score in this category.
24

Creative UX Scores
| 20 points
17.5
17.3
16.9
16.5
16.3
15.8
13.7
13.2
10.5
8.8
25

Social Media
26

82642 36751
9429 3670 3506 2814
5660 2770 2644
Brands by Facebook Followers
The amount of followers relates well with turnover where Linas Matkasse is the leading brand. Årstiderna has a strong
follower base relative to their turnover in comparison to the other brands. Since Hello Fresh has a global Facebook page
for their Facebook activities, they are excluded from this comparison.
27

Mat & Ro received high
engagement score
following their
successful Christmas
posts.
Facebook Followers & Engagement rate
Most brands are having hard time building a large follower base and
receiving high engagement from consumers at the same time (data
collected in December 2020).
These brands have difficulties
in achieving following and
engagement on Facebook
Despite large numbers of followers, Årstiderna and Linas
matkasse are having trouble in reaching engagement.
28

Hello Fresh
7
Linas Matkasse
6
Mat & Ro
6
Årstiderna
4
Veckans Middag
4
Ecoviva
4
Middagsfrid
3
Family Food
Gastrofy
Simple Feast
2
3
3
Fair Competition
Through compelling and varied content, including recurring
competitions and sharing customers’ posts, Hello Fresh is using
Facebook effectively.
29

15700
12600 8038
12900
2187 1807 1328
212
Companies by Instagram Followers
The distribution between number of followers for the different meal kit companies on Instagram are more
diverse than on Facebook. Family Food is excluded from the Instagram rankings due to inactivity.
157
30

Instagram Followers & Engagement rate
Results show that it is hard to maintain a high engagement rate while
simultaneously having a large amount of followers on Instagram. It
seems like Hello Fresh’s social media strategy is paying off with
increasing engagement and larger follower base.
Hello Fresh is the only brand that manages to
perform above an average amount of followers
as well as engagement rate. The brand’s
follower base has been growing rapidly.
Gastrofy and Veckans Middag
need to improve their Instagram
activities.
31

Hello Fresh
9
Linas Matkasse
8
Årstiderna
8
Middagsfrid
6
Simple Feast
5
Ecoviva
5
Mat & Ro
5
Veckans Middag
Gastrofy
Family Food 0
4
4
Competition and inspiration
Similar to their Facebook feed, Hello Fresh posts inspiring photos of
their product and use competitions to create engagement. They
also repost contents from influencers they are collaborating with.
32

Video Content - a missed opportunity?
Årstiderna, Linas Matkasse and Simple Feast are the only meal kit brands that have a YouTube channel for
Swedish followers. Yet, Simple Feast is the only one actively updating their video feed. Due to inactivity, searching
for “Linas Matkasse” or “Årstiderna” on YouTube does not return results linked to the brands’ channels. Only Simple
Feast enjoys recognition from YouTube’s search engine rankings.
We believe that meal kit brands should use YouTube more effectively in their marketing. YouTube is the second
most popular search engine in the world where meal kit brands can be discovered by consumers looking for
recipes. 33

Social Media Scores
| 25p
19
17
16
12
11
9
9
8
7
2
34

Final Ranking - Top Performers
1
1
11
2
Brand performance
11
2
9
10
75
3
4
Average performance
11
1
2
9
10
73
3
4
11
1
2
8
7
6
5
9
10
73
3
4
8
7
6
5
9
10
69
3
4
8
5
8
5
7
6
7
6
Metrics
1. Authority Score
2. Pagespeed
3. On-page Optimization
4. Usability
5. Mobile Compatibility
6. Credibility
7. Desirability
8. Simplicity
9. Facebook
10. Instagram
11. Youtube
36

Final Ranking - Average Performers
1
1
1
11
2
11
2
11
2
9
10
3
10
3
10
58 57 56
4
9
4
9
3
4
8
5
8
5
8
5
7
6
7
6
7
6
Metrics
1. Authority Score
2. Pagespeed
3. On-page Optimization
4. Usability
5. Mobile Compatibility
6. Credibility
7. Desirability
8. Simplicity
9. Facebook
10. Instagram
11. Youtube
37

Final Rankings - Low Performers
1
1
1
11
2
11
2
11
2
10
3
10
3
10
3
9
50
4
9
48
4
9
39
4
8
5
8
5
8
5
7
6
7
6
7
6
Metrics
1. Authority Score
2. Pagespeed
3. On-page Optimization
4. Usability
5. Mobile Compatibility
6. Credibility
7. Desirability
8. Simplicity
9. Facebook
10. Instagram
11. Youtube
38

A Recipe to Improve Digital Marketing
Build diverse backlink profiles with links from a number
of relevant domains to improve search engine visibility.
Prioritize the mobile experience by making your site
more responsive and optimize loading times. This will increase
both UX and SEO performance.
Start serving content in video format. Cooking videos
are popular on social media, this is something meal kit brands
should use to enhance their social media presence. Both
YouTube and Instagram are great tools for video marketing
tactics.
Make your website simple and visually appealing.
Good functional and creative UX should award your brand with a
higher conversion rate.
Consider all success factors. Building a well-rounded
digital marketing effort can result in higher turnover, as seen
with Linas Matkasse. 39

Thank You For
Reading This
Report.
Image credits
On Pexels: Cristian Dina, Lukas, Pixabay, PhotoMIX Company
On Unsplash: @pawel_czerwinski, @grimnoire