PlateJoy, DC’s newest meal kit company, skips the kit

WASHINGTON — Is there room in the Washington market or another meal-kit company? The newest arrival will help you cook and get you the ingredients, but it’s not exactly a kit.

PlateJoy generates recipes based on your likes and your needs, then links to Instacart to get the ingredients delivered from your nearby grocery store, instead of being boxed up and sent from afar.

PlateJoy also eliminates one of the biggest complaints about meal kits.

“There is so much packaging waste. You are getting large boxes in the mail that are packed with dry ice and tiny containers with a tablespoon of vinegar,” says PlateJoy founder Christina Bognet. “We solve this problem by partnering with local grocers so that your deliveries are coming fresh.”

PlateJoy also includes what it calls a digital pantry assistant.

“With our digital pantry, we use technology to remember what you have on hand each week so you can make use of the ingredients that you already have,” Bognet says.

PlateJoy can also generate menus based on factors such as weight-loss goals.

PlateJoy comes in 6-month and 12-month packages, starting at $8 per month. The Instacart delivery charge comes on top of that.

Jeff Clabaugh

Jeff Clabaugh has spent 20 years covering the Washington region's economy and financial markets for WTOP as part of a partnership with the Washington Business Journal, and officially joined the WTOP newsroom staff in January 2016.

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