05/15/2006 09:28:00 PM 
The general formula is assembling 12 dinners in 2 hours for under $200. Now you can cook dinner for the family and still have time to watch Top Chef. A few flavors:
Super Suppers
My Girlfriend's Kitchen
Let's Eat Dinner
Dream Dinners
In the U.S., over 700 varying locations have popped up in the last few years. All are being aggressively franchised (small real estate, low buy-in costs) making meal-assembly centers the Curves of the kitchen--which by the way now has nearly 10,000 worldwide locations.
The meal-assembly concept is perfectly in step with the macro-trends of experience and participation. It encourages customization, as recipes can be slightly tweaked to match the taste of your family. It taps the heightened societal concern over obesity and nutrition, since it is seemingly less processed food than traditional frozen dinners. It may help Moms feel like better Moms by bringing their family together around the table.
But Influx believes the most powerful aspect of the concept may be giving women a place to hang out with girlfriends. Food has long lived in a special emotional territory with its unique ability to bring people together for enjoyment and nourishment. Now it can do the same for preparation. If these centers can function as meeting places to spend time with friends, they won't easily be replaced by the next wave of timesaving food concepts.
Some ways to build on the trend:
-Brand sponsored recipes, recipes or theme weeks
-Food properties launch their own meal-assembly places
-Celebrity chefs' endorsements and exclusive recipes
-Meal-assembly brands branch into Cooking Bootcamps/Girlfriend Get-aways
And just a question. Does anyone else find it short-sighted that most of the brands have dinner or supper in the name?
Check out the up-coming "Recipe for Success" episode about Dream Dinners on the Food Network on June 25th.
The growing industry as reported in NY Times.
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