MARLEY SPOON OPENS GRAND PRAIRIE GROCERY WAREHOUSE

A 30,000-square-foot warehouse in west Grand Prairie could revolutionize how Americans make their grocery purchases.

Fabian Siegel envisions a world without food waste, where households buy complete meals from gourmet recipes that include only what is needed. He sees the whole grocery store model as being wasteful, because so much food gets thrown out, and uninspiring, because you have to piece together recipes as you shop.

Marley Spoon founder Fabian Siegel. [Photo: Marley Spoon]

Siegel’s solution was to co-found Marley Spoon, where customers can order meal kits online and have the fresh raw ingredients delivered to their house. They can choose meals for two adults or two adults and two children.

“We want to make it easier for people to do a weeknight dinner,” Siegel said. “It gets to you fresh. We basically chill the inside of the box. We guarantee that the food stays fresh for 72 hours.”

Marley Spoon’s newest warehouse in Grand Prairie opened in June and delivers meals all across middle America. The facility created 50 new jobs and is still hiring. It has two temperature-controlled sections, one for meats and one for produce.

Texas was the logical choice for a distribution center because of the cattle industry and the logistics hub that’s already here.

“It’s a great place to buy food,” Siegel said.

Other Marley Spoon warehouses are located in New York and California. Marley Spoon also operates in Europe and Australia.

The company is gearing up for a busy Thanksgiving where it will deliver turkeys and the trimmings.

Martha Stewart began providing recipes for Marley Spoon in June. [Photo: Marley Spoon]

“I think it’s really just the beginning and our goal is to grow rapidly in the next month,” Siegel said.

MARTHA STEWART CRAFTS RECIPES

There’s another powerhouse behind Marley Spoon who comes up with the recipes: Martha Stewart.

The partnership with Stewart started in June, the same time the Grand Prairie facility opened. The recipes carry her branding, which is important for Marley Spoon to differentiate itself from its competitors.

It serves only grass fed meats and has cut down on the supply chain so the food is fresher than what you’d get at the grocery store, Siegel said.

“We are replacing the supermarket. They are a bad invention full of perishable products. If you don’t buy it, it goes bad.” 

Fabian Siegel

The meals cost about $9.90 per portion for couples and $8.70 per portion for a family of four.

Orders are done on a weekly basis and are delivered by PeriShip, a company that focuses entirely on delivering perishable food. PeriShip also takes advantage of the FedEx shipping network. FedEx has a large presence at nearby Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, just a few miles from the Grand Prairie warehouse.

Meal kits are a competitive space with several startups popping up around the country and the world. Siegel believes it’s the smart way for consumers to buy groceries. For example, Marley Spoon kits might include one celery stick needed for a recipe. Grocery stores force you to buy the whole stalk, which often goes to waste.

“We are replacing the supermarket,” Siegel said. “They are a bad invention full of perishable products. If you don’t buy it, it goes bad. You pay for all that waste.”

For a daily dose of what’s new and next in Dallas-Fort Worth innovation, subscribe to our Dallas Innovates e-newsletter.