Effects of specially designed meal boxes on plant-forward dietary choice

Meal boxes delivered regularly to the doorstep of private households is a popular and convenient way of subscribing to climate-related diet changes away from animal-based foods towards a more plant-forward diet. Such meal boxes are subject to a market mechanism and the providers can dynamically in response to the sales nudge and balance the composition of the boxes, by experimenting with food item composition and taste as well as conforming to life-style issues. Data for the sales figures, the taste profiles, and nutritional contents for such meal boxes can be used to test the hypothesis that a rational strategy for developing such meal boxes can help to increase the plant-part of meals. Data presented here for sales of such meal boxes (Meal Kits) over the period 2019-2024 provides a quantitative and survey-free gauge of the rate of the green transition. Analysis of the data shows that the energy content due to the plant-based part of the meal boxes can be increased 1-2%-points annually. Moreover, as the plant-based part of the Meal Kits raises, the data reveals from where the meat-replaced calories come, which is of health concerns when it comes to legumes and starches. An analysis of the specific ingredients and the recipes that accompany the Meal Kits furthermore sheds light on which sensoric aspects of the food may be important to affect dietary choices.