Sam’s Club adds better-for-you meal service

Sam’s Club has partnered with meal delivery service Fresh n’ Lean to enable members to receive a selection of healthy, quick-to-prepare meals at their doorsteps.

This week, Bentonville, Ark.-based Sam’s Club began offering three Fresh n’ Lean meal plans to club members. Each plan includes five heat-and-eat meals and costs $58.98 for standard members and $53.98 for Plus members.

Sam’s Club described Anaheim, Calif.-based Fresh n’ Lean as the No. 1 organically sourced, ready-to-eat meal delivery service. The fresh, non-bioengineered meals can be heated up and ready to eat in two to three minutes.

Fresh n’ Lean meal plans available to Sam’s Club members include Assorted, Vegetarian and High Protein. 

Sam’s Club described Fresh n’ Lean as the No. 1 organically sourced, ready-to-eat meal delivery service.

The Assorted option features salsa verde chicken, cilantro lime steak, plant-based crab cake, cajun salmon and barbecued pulled chicken entrees, while the Vegetarian meals include barbecued jackfruit, crab cake, Southwestern chili, tofu with cilantro rice and asparagus, and egg and Beyond Meat sausage. The High Protein plan offers barbecued pulled chicken, braised beef, salsa verde chicken, cilantro lime steak and egg sausage meals.

Sam’s Club noted that the addition of a meal delivery service like Fresh n’ Lean marks a first for the wholesale club chain and came about in response to customer feedback.

Related:Dierbergs Markets teams up with rootberry plant-based meal service

Christa Breeden, a prepared foods merchant at Sam’s Club, surveyed more than 5,100 members to find out more about what food offerings they would like, and many cited healthy meals delivered to their homes. As a result, Breeden cold-called more than 40 companies to find out if they could provide such a service via Sam’s, and Fresh n’ Lean stood out.

“Fresh n’ Lean shined in quality, customer service and consumer satisfaction,” according to Breeden. “Their mission to fill a need for consumers aligns with Sam’s Club’s strategy to meet our members’ needs. In addition, the meals feature organic ingredients and taste great.”

Laureen Asseo started Fresh n’ Lean out of her apartment in 2010 and serves as co-CEO with her brother Thomas. Now operating out of a large facility in Anaheim, the company saw sales jump nearly 200% in 2019 and 2020 and has delivered 21 million meals since its founding.

“A relationship with Sam's Club means a great deal to me. It gives Fresh n’ Lean the ability to reach millions of Americans and further support our mission to redefine fast food and really provide quality fuel for the body,” Lauren Asseo said in a statement. “I hope members can gain back some time in their day for themselves or time with loved ones with the convenience of Fresh n’ Lean.”

Related:New opportunities exist for foodservice at retail as shopping behaviors shift

A subsidiary of Walmart, Sam’s Club operates almost 600 warehouse club stores overall in the United States and Puerto Rico.

“Laureen’s journey has created a new solution for our members and promoted creativity in a stagnate meal space,” Breeden added. “She exemplifies thinking outside the box, not accepting mediocrity and delivering the best for consumers.”