Coeliac NZ is one of the first not-for profit organisations to partner with the startup Grossr, which has entered the meal kit and grocery shopping innovation game but delivers a twist that is designed to save money and provide greater personal choice.

“The problem with traditional meal kits is the expense, plastic waste, and lack of flexibility,” says co-founder Nick Sinclair. “There’s generally just one ‘star chef’ who has a certain style of food, which feels repetitive after a while. Yes, they’re convenient – but they only cater to a certain demographic and aren’t accessible if you’re less well-off or have a particular dietary need.

“We’re creating an easy, convenient, and flexible meal planning and shopping experience that aims to make cooking more affordable, rather than more of a luxury. You can choose a meal plan that suits you, receive new recipes each week, and then in one click, the ingredients are a custom check-off ingredient list which you can also shop seamlessly through supermarket online shopping.

At $4.50 per week or $16 per month ($3.69/wk) for a meal plan subscription, Grossr aims to make meal planning and a better shopping experience accessible to everyone. With the option to substitute recipes across different meal plans, flexibility is endless and is designed to help manage a range of different dietary requirements that might be present within a family or flatting situation.

“By only buying what you need for the week’s meals, you naturally end up saving money. That’s been the experience of our early customers; they buy fewer takeaways because they know what they’re cooking, and they haven’t added lots of unnecessary ingredients to their shop.”

Most of the profit generated from Grossr subscriptions goes to the partners, providing much-needed funding for the not-for-profit organisations, and another revenue stream for chefs and foodies.

“There are so many talented chefs and foodies out there, creating fantastic recipes and specialising in different types of food and diets,” says co-founder Wyoming Paul. “We wanted to connect these fantastic chefs with seamless technology, so that not only can anyone create a meal plan - they can also provide their audience with features like self-generating, customisable ingredient lists and automatic online supermarket shopping, that makes the weekly shop incredibly easy.”

Wyoming adds, “We also love the idea of people being able to turn their recipes into a meal plan and monetise them because it creates another revenue stream for restaurateurs and chefs who may be struggling post-Covid.”

“When we launched the free beta of Grossr in April, we had a flurry of feedback,” says Wyoming Paul one of the founders. “A lot of people loved the idea of shopping recipes automatically through online supermarket shopping and wanted a more affordable version of a meal kit but wished that there were low-Fodmap and gluten-free options available. Traditional meal kits may not cater well to people with coeliac disease or indeed those looking to accommodate the varying dietary needs across a single family or group".

Coeliac New Zealand are excited to be contributing gluten free recipes to Grossr's gluten free meal kit experience so that Kiwis living with coeliac disease, and others who must follow a gluten free diet, can get inspired in the kitchen. “When people subscribe to the gluten free meal plan, they will also be helping us to raise much-needed funds to support people with the disease with information, education, and advice throughout their coeliac journey. It also helps raise awareness about our Food Ambassadors and manufacturers whose gluten free products are Crossed Grain Logo accredited,” says Dana Alexander Sales and Marketing Manager for Coeliac NZ.

Kidspot Kitchen’s Sales Business Manager, Claudia Holland, says, “We’re really pleased to be an early innovation partner with Grossr - Kidspot was created to help parents and families make life easier, and Grossr takes a lot of mental and practical effort out of the weekly shop. With the rise in supermarket prices, we hope that a curated Kidspot Kitchen meal plan will make the food shop more affordable for families on a budget, while keeping meals interesting, balanced, and delicious.”

Thea Thyme has always loved food, with the passion really kicking in after moving out of home and cooking for herself. She is self-taught through personal experimentation and believes that food is to be shared, enjoyed, and should bring everyone together around the table, which is what brought her to Instagram and Grossr. "I started making low fodmap meals for my partner and I while following a low fodmap diet as we struggled to find good, interesting recipes that we actually wanted to eat. I loved the challenge of making something that not only tasted good but was tummy-friendly without any side effects. Now I share my recipes to help others with sensitive or funny tummies."

Currently, Grossr has integration with New World. However, the startup will soon partner with other supermarkets to give people more choice about where they can ‘auto-shop’ the meal plans. They will also continue to add more meal plans by different chefs, expanding the range of recipes available.

The founders, Wyoming Paul and Nick Sinclair have bootstrapped the startup after working at award-winning tech startup Parkable.