The Meal Assembly Kitchen franchise concept continues to be as fresh and palatable as last month’s salmon.
Meal Assembly Watch has assumed the role of Meal Prep hospice and caregiver TuckerBox is keeping family friends, and acquaintances updated on the slow, painful death of the once-hyped franchise boondoggle.
In the 9/11 post  Store Closings and Meal Prep Failures Tuckerbox writes:
… the Back to School rush didn’t go so well since another 32 companies and a total of 115 stores have shut their doors. It seems the summer was not kind.
Previously, Dream Dinners and Super Suppers were neck and neck as they raced …read more

(FranchisePick.Com)  “Quick growth does not equal profitability… This is a fad industry that grew way too fast.” Richard Rosen
FranchisePick.com has been focusing on the rise and fall of the meal prep franchise as it serves as a contemporary case study and cautionary tale of the “hot new franchise” phenomenon, and an example of the devastation that can occur when individuals allow themselves to be swept up in the hype of an unproven new idea.
In the recent article Taking On Restaurants And Grocers, Forbes reporter Melanie Lindner recounts the rapid rise of the meal prep industry, and some of the …read more

(FranchisePick.Com) It shouldn’t come as a big surprise that the Hot New Franchise concept called meal assembly kitchens or meal prep kitchens (or DIY dinners or Build-A-Meal Workshop) concept was served up to hungry franchisees like undercooked pork – and seems to be having the same effect. What is a big surprise is how such a far-flung concept even achieved Hot New Franchise status in the first place. There were many warning signs that would-be franchise owners can learn from and avoid the same trap – and failing meal prep franchisees can use if they need …read more

(FranchisePick.Com)  See related story:  Is Super Suppers for Stupid Suckers? And Other Meal Prep Franchise ???s
A common new business pitfall is the entrepreneurial tendency to become enamored so with a “solution” that one forgets to make sure it’s preceded by an actual need… and a need great enough to support multiple competitors who are also enamored with said solution.
Case in point:  “Meal prep” or “meal assembly” kitchen franchises.  This is where, to my hazy understanding,  ex-yuppie soccer moms with more money than time can go and slurp Merlot with other ex-yuppie soccer moms while assembling meals to bring home, freeze, and serve later to their families as …read more

(FranchisePick.Com)  Read related story:  NYT on the Meal Prep Franchise: Hot Concept Gone Cold?.  Get franchise information and review franchise opportunities at FranBest.com.
Do franchisees of Super Suppers feel like Stupid Suckers?  Has Dream Dinners become the Nightmare on Elm Street?  Will My Girlfriend soon be getting back her Kitchen?  Has time run out for Supper Thyme USA?  Will Pass Your Plate soon be passing THE plate?
Can the “Meal Prep,” or “Meal Assembly Kitchen,” or “Make It & Take It” franchise concept fail before we’ve decided what to call it?  Meal Prep franchise companies such as Entrée Vous!, Entrees Made Easy, Mr. Food, …read more

(FranchisePick.com) They go by clever names like Super Suppers, Dream Dinners, Dinner’s Ready, My Girlfriend’s Kitchen, Supper Thyme USA, Lets Dish!, and Pass your Plate. They’re called Meal Prep or Meal Assembly franchises.
Question is: Are they the hot new franchise concept, or will they disappear before I can figure out exactly what they do?
Last September, my friend Julie Bennett posed this question in a Wall Street Journal article that did as good a job as any to explain this somewhat complicated concept:
The meal-preparation business combines old-fashioned cooking with contemporary socializing. Groups of customers gather at workstations where …read more