Home Bistro Inc. is Ripe for Investment Consideration in Our New Normal
2020 will be an unforgettable year for several reasons; one worth celebrating is the rise our resiliency. Due to the global pandemic, people around the world are adjusting their lifestyles to meet changing demands. Online shopping, remote working and home schooling are new demands placed on many of us, which means our plates are fuller than ever. As consumers become increasingly time-starved and convenience-seeking, they have vigorously sought out alternatives to cooking at home or ordering take-out. Also because of COVID-19, countless restaurants across the U.S. have indefinitely closed their doors – as a result, many people are also learning to cook more meals at home. While the restaurant industry is struggling, the U.S. meal kit delivery services market is on the rise.
There are three distinct market segments going up against the traditional restaurant industry. Those three segments, the meal-kit, the third-party delivery and the prepared “heat-to-eat” meal models, differ vastly from one another. The meal-kit business is extremely capital intensive and experiences high operating and supply chain costs due to the need to maintain strategically located distribution centers necessary to accommodate timely delivery of fresh, uncooked foods. The third-party online delivery platforms offer access to restaurants via a single online portal. By logging on to a website or mobile app, consumers can quickly compare menus, prices and reviews from peers. As consumers become increasingly time-starved and convenience-seeking, they have vigorously sought out alternatives to cooking at home or ordering take-out. While meal-kit providers and third-party restaurant delivery services have garnered the most attention with significant investment and growth over the past five years, prepared meal delivery services have begun to proliferate into the market.
- Based on offering, the “heat and eat segment” was valued at USD 5.10 billion in 2019. This is attributed to the increasingly busy, overworked consumer lifestyle.
- Multiple services are expected to witness rapid growth over the forecast period. More parents are working from home while monitoring their children’s virtual learning – this often means less time in the kitchen, which is expected to increase the demand for multiple packages.
As the prepared, heat-to-eat, meal delivery market gains speed, many food and beverage innovators are rising to meet evolving consumer trends and demands. Home Bistro, Inc. (OTC: HBIS) is one such company, working with big-name chefs to provide a variety of high-quality in-home meal options. Consumers are taking notice.
Currently, the “Home Bistro” meal brand serves a distinct segment of the high-growth meal delivery sector. Unlike “meal-kit” providers that deliver raw groceries and ingredients with recipe cards, which require cooking and clean up, the Company’s offerings consist of healthy, affordable, flash-frozen, prepared gourmet meals, conveniently packaged, which can be heated either mouthwatering sous vide style or in the microwave, and ready to serve in just minutes. The resulting dining experience is extremely convenient and requires minimal cleanup.
For the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2020, online orders of Home Bistro meals increased 103% year-over-year. A benefactor of the in-home cooking boom, Home Bistro is focused on providing high-quality, direct-to-consumer, ready-made gourmet meals available at www.homebistro.com, as well as restaurant-quality meats and seafood through its Prime Chop www.primechop.com and Colorado Prime brands.
The company differs itself from the competition by teaming up with world-class chefs to design their own line of home-delivered gourmet meals. Home Bistro recently partnered with celebrity “Iron Chef” Cat Cora who will bring to the company’s lineup a southern and Mediterranean roots cooking style. Cora is a world-renowned chef, author, restaurateur, contributing editor, television host and personality, avid philanthropist, health and fitness expert, lifestyle entrepreneur, and proud mother of six. She trained at the Culinary Institute of America in New York and went on to cook at two 3-Star Michelin restaurants in France.
“I’m very much looking forward to creating a new and exciting line of culinary delicacies with Home Bistro. Home Bistro’s team’s in-depth experience in the direct-to-consumer food market will prove a great platform to offer my Mediterranean-inspired cooking to a large consumer base, where they can enjoy healthy, gourmet prepared meals in the comfort of their homes,” Cora stated in a news release announcing the partnership.
In a recent interview with SmallCapVoice.com, Home Bistro CEO Zalmi Duchman explained, “To continue penetrating and expanding our reach in the U.S. is our prime goal in 2021. The most exciting and rewarding thing for us will be to see how meals are improving everyday life in our new normal. We want families to eat delicious and healthy, ready-made meals without all the prep time and stress that comes with cooking. That is basically our vision. The company is ideally positioned for scale and growth.”
Indeed, Home Bistro is poised for big things in 2021. Keep a close eye on this public company whose stock is traded under the ticker symbol, “HBIS.”
