Dinner By Design Unveils New Convenience Services And Prototype Location

By: Dinner By Design, Inc. | 2 Shares 154 Reads

New Meal Assembly Model Expected to Revolutionize Industry and Help Time-Starved People

February 28, 2008 // Franchising.com // Chicago IL -- Got Dinner tonight? If you're like 74 percent of the American public who doesn't think about dinner until the same day, Dinner by Design has an answer for you.

Dinner by Design, a leading meal assembly company, has unveiled a new package of Convenience Services that is expected to change the easy meal prep industry and to significantly help time-starved families.

Dinner by Design's Convenience Services will save an average family up to 35 hours a month or 10 hours a week in menu planning, shopping and meal preparation. With added variety, the average cost is only $3 to $5 a serving, less than many fast food meals. Specifically, the company's Convenience Services include:

*New Delivery Services allow people to pre-order entrees and side dishes and have them delivered to their company, daycare, school or other organization. Based on a successful test marketing effort, Dinner by Design already has more than 300 group delivery clients nationwide. Home delivery will be unveiled and tested in one of the company's location in March.

*Pick Up Meals are for busy people who don't have delivery service. "Take & Bake" entrees, desserts and side dishes are pre-made, can be picked up anytime during expanded business hours, and orders can be placed online, emailed, faxed or phoned in.

*Dinner Tonight Selections are perfect for people who need something for dinner without defrosting time. This service helps meet the needs of nearly 37 percent* of people who don't think about dinner until just before preparing it.

"Dinner by Design is revolutionizing the meal assembly business by packaging its Convenience Services and offering and meeting needs of busy people who want healthy dinners but don't have the time to prepare them," said company president and CEO John Matthews. Group delivery, Pick Up Service and Take & Bake selections are already available and are operating successfully at most locations nationwide.

In related news, Dinner by Design today announced the development and opening of a new prototype kitchen in Gurnee, Illinois. This location is serving as the test site for a streamlined business model that focuses on Convenience Services. It features home delivery, group and corporate delivery, enhanced consumer retail space and additional freezer space for Take & Bake and Dinner Tonight selections. Home delivery is scheduled to debut in mid-March.

According to family expert Victoria Fleming, PhD, it's all about time, convenience and better health. "Busy parents are looking for healthy and time-saving solutions so their families can experience the benefits of having dinner together." As executive director of North Shore Wellness Services and as a family therapist, Dr. Fleming finds families who eat together have better more opportunities for communication, which leads to more positive behavior in many children. "Families often struggle to find quality time together on a regular basis. Dinner by Design offers a very practical solution. Parents are less stressed about meal preparation, and less time in the kitchen means they have more time to spend with their children," said Dr. Fleming.

"This is the wave of the future," said Matthews. "This new business model has been very attractive to existing and potential franchise owners alike. We anticipate that the new meal assembly model will mean added growth for Dinner by Design owners and operators." In addition to the new convenience services, Dinner by Design customers in other locations can schedule in-kitchen meal assembly sessions, fundraising events and private parties. Dinner by Design has nearly 60 kitchens opened, and agreements for another 40 locations in the U.S. and Canada.

Dinner by Design is the convenient, cost effective and easy way to bring families back to the dinner table with healthy, handmade dinners. Dinner by Design was recognized as having the "Best Food" among all meal assembly companies in an independent comparison study. As part of its menu options, the company also features popular entrees from Cooking Light Magazine.

Business Times Daily called Dinner by Design "one of the hottest new retail franchise sensations sweeping the nation" and Entrepreneur Magazine named Dinner by Design and this market segment one of the "Hot 29 Businesses to Start."