Food & beverage products have been a pillar of the kids licensing industry for decades, but the rise of subscription meal kits has led to a category expansion this year. Parents are turning to these services en masse as a way to get fresh, home-cooked meals on the table after a busy workday and avoid fast food.

Made famous by food service companies such as HelloFresh, Blue Apron and Chefs Plate, subscription meal kits take the guesswork out of dinnertime. Boxes arrive every week with pre-portioned ingredients and 30-minute recipe cards so consumers can easily create nutritious home-cooked meals. Last year alone, they generated more than US$12 billion worldwide, and that figure is expected to grow by 4.57% annually until the category reaches US$16.58 billion by 2029, according to research firm Statista.

Smelling a delicious opportunity, kids brands have recently gotten in on the action, identifying family-targeted meal kits as a great way to engage with their audience through a daily routine at home.

Farm to license

BBC Studios kicked things off in March, signing two deals with UK-based Gousto and Chicago’s Home Chef to deliver the first Bluey-branded meal kits (pictured above). This was Home Chef’s first licensing deal since the launch of its family plan program last May, says brand marketing director Raquel Brown.

The activation ran throughout April 2024, featuring Bluey-branded packaging with an activity maze, downloadable coloring pages, an in-bag collectible each week and recipes inspired by the show’s characters. Branded meal offerings included Bluey and Bingo’s BLT Beef Burgers, Chili’s Turkey and Bean Chili and Bandit’s Takeaway Pork Egg Roll in a Bowl.

“Compared to our main menu, the family recipes are available in larger portion sizes and designed to be balanced with [children’s] palates in mind,” says Brown. “Bluey’s focus on family and fun perfectly complemented our goal of bringing kids and parents together through cooking. And the fun branding elements allowed customers to enhance their existing mealtime routine.”

Post-launch, Home Chef received feedback from parents saying that their picky eaters wanted to try new foods like salmon and vegetables, thanks to a little extra encouragement from Bluey, says Brown. She adds that the first round of licensed kits exceeded expectations and will be a new part of the company’s core business moving forward. Currently, Home Chef sells more than three million kits monthly across the US, with consumers choosing from around 35 different meal options each week.

At press time, Home Chef had already followed up this initial foray into licensing with two more agreements—with Mattel for an UNO family game night campaign and with Paramount/Spin Master’s PAW Patrol franchise.

The PAW Patrol campaign was modeled after the Bluey blueprint and is the first meal kit partnership for Paramount’s consumer products and experiences division, whose retail development team had the collaboration underway for well over a year as it looked for new ways to reach out to families, says EVP Jamie Drew. These kits launched in August as part of Paramount’s PAW Patrol “To The Rescue” program, designed to help parents and preschoolers achieve new milestones together throughout the year.

“We know from research that today’s preschool parents are turning to entertainment brands to tackle parenting challenges and celebrate their kids’ achievements,” says Drew. “Meal kits check so many boxes for us because they are healthy food options for kids, they provide helpful solutions for parents, and they enable families to connect with each other and our franchises in a unique way.”

Easy brand oven

In addition to traditional meal kits, entrepreneurs have been cooking up STEM-focused baking kits to help kids ages four and up develop new skills, including measurements and chemistry. One such innovator is Texas-based I’m The Chef Too!, which delivers more than 750,000 baking kits worldwide each year.

CEO Lisa Wallace founded the company with her husband in 2019 when they decided to adapt their regional after-school and summer-camp baking programs into kits they could ship out nationwide during the pandemic.

Since its humble beginnings in Wallace’s basement, this venture has migrated into a 30,000-square-foot factory. And after four years in business, the next step to scale I’m The Chef Too!’s operations was to explore licensing opportunities.

The company began building connections with brand owners through promotional partnerships and movie premieres it was using to introduce its products to new audiences. Eventually, Wallace got her foot in the door at Hasbro in 2023 and secured a first licensing deal to produce Transformers, My Little Pony, Peppa Pig, Candy Land and PJ Masks baking kits. Some popular meal kit companies that have yet to sign a licensing deal with kids brand owners. “When we take on a licensing opportunity and release a new product, we actually don’t bundle it into our subscription line,” explains Wallace. “The core interests vary greatly in our four- to 14-year-old target demographic, and we don’t want to force anyone into a subscription. Instead, we offer the licensed kits as add-ons for a limited time so consumers know exactly what they’re getting.”

In the case of Hasbro, I’m The Chef Too!’s product development team initially focused on crafting recipes themed around its kids brands’ core characters for six months. This resulted in several kits that are still available year-round for US$30, including Transformers Treat Pops, Peppa’s Muddy Puddle Cookie Pies and My Little Pony Parfaits.

Each package comes with an activity/recipe guide, pre-measured dry ingredients and a wide range of specialty supplies, such as edible character wafer paper and branded candy wrappers.

Following this first partnership, I’m the Chef Too! signed a similar agreement with Mattel in February to produce a Barbie-themed collection of kits (cookies, popsicles and mousse), and it will also debut a new range of Elf on the Shelf kits with The Lumistella Company in Q4 this year.

While I’m the Chef Too! is primed to take on more licenses, the company’s long-term goals are to expand outside North America and explore partnerships with retailers to carry its kits in brick-and-mortar stores, instead of relying on e-commerce to drive new business, says Wallace.

And the company is committed to working directly with I’m the Chef Too!’s loyal community during the development process to mine new product ideas and leverage its social media presence during launches, she adds.

“I think the biggest trend in the category today is focusing on the voice of the customer, because they’re the ones who grow the business for you. Each one is a micro/macro influencer on social media who is showcasing your product to the world. And by rewarding them through a loyalty or ambassador program, they become motivated to continue sharing your new products—in fact, they quickly become the most valuable part of your marketing channel.”

This story originally appeared in Kidscreen’s Q3 2024 magazine issue.