Kroger officially has its next $1 billion brand.
On Monday, the Cincinnati-based grocery giant announced its Home Chef meal kit unit has crossed the marquee amount of annual sales. The announcement comes six months after Stuart Aitken, Kroger’s chief merchant and marketing officer, said Home Chef would be Kroger's next $1 billion brand during the company's investor day.
Home Chef's popularity has soared during the pandemic, with sales growing 118% during the past year, Aitken said during his April presentation.
Kroger bought Home Chef in 2018 in a deal worth up to $700 million. Its annual sales at the time of the deal were $250 million. It has expanded the business dramatically since then by selling meal kits and other products in its stores as well as through home delivery.
It has also created a range of ready-to-cook, ready-to-heat and ready-to-eat Home Chef meals.
Home Chef will likely remain a key piece of Kroger's growth moving forward, as the company executes its strategy to attract customers who want to bring home ready-to-eat – or almost ready – meals. That strategy is becoming increasingly popular within the grocery industry in wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
