Meal kits have been a growing trend for years, and the Covid pandemic accelerated uptake. Households increasingly augment the weekly shop with convenient, ready-to-go options that require less planning and less shopping. Over the past few years meal kits popularity has declined and consumers have become interested in pre-prepared or pre-cooked meal options.
Deanna McNaughton owns Knights Deli in Wagga Wagga. Knights Butchery was established in 1974 and became a large and iconic Wagga Wagga institution. When Deanna bought the business in 2009, it had a dozen butchers and a tiny deli.
“Over time we saw a growing demand for meals, whether that was a pre-prepared stir fry or something people could take home and cook,” Deanna said.
By 2011, she'd expanded the deli into the building next door, fitted a full commercial kitchen, and hired Knights’ first ever chef. What would become their ‘Gourmet to Go’ offering was already taking shape – using spare space in the bain-marie to have the chef turn any beef or lamb that needed to be moved quickly into that day’s hot meal. There was no planned menu; it was practical, reduced waste and proved popular.
When the pandemic hit in early 2020, customers were juggling homeschooling, working from home and avoiding supermarkets while still needing to put dinner on the table. Knights responded by adding DIY meal kits: boxes of pre-portioned ingredients customers could order online, collect from the driveway or pick up in-store and cook themselves.
“People wanted to shop small and local, and that really kicked things off for us,” she said.
The kits ran for a couple of years before Knights wound them back in 2022, refocusing on Gourmet to Go as a seasonal menu rotating weekly across a four-week cycle.
Today, Gourmet to Go runs Monday to Thursday, with freshly cooked hot meals available from 3:30pm, no cooking required.
“People picking up the kids and heading to sport can swing past, grab the meal, and continue on,” Deanna said. “It's healthy, fresh, ready to go… literally dinner on the table right now.”
The ready-meal customer
Two distinct groups are regular buyers: busy working professionals who value their time, and older locals, many of whom live alone.
“They tell us, ‘I couldn't cook that, and even if I tried to shop for the ingredients for one person, I'd be eating the same thing for four days straight.’”
The menu rotates seasonally – Thai beef salad with hokkien noodles in summer, beef bourguignon and chunky beef pies in winter. The chefs use affordable, versatile cuts: rump sliced thin for stir fries, brisket slow-cooked overnight and shredded into quesadillas or sandwiches, and boneless lamb leg for lunches and catering.
“We stick with cuts that are simple for the chefs to use in three or four different ways.”
Advice for independent butchers
Deanna's advice is straightforward: start with a great pie.
“With a slow cooker, some chuck or brisket, good seasoning and pastry, you can offer a delicious pie. Add a house-made sauce alongside and you have an easy upsell.”
From there, the options open up. Butchers can bundle those same cuts with pre-portioned ingredients and a recipe card for customers who prefer to cook at home or serve meals hot and ready to go if facilities allow. The quality meat, customer trust and condiments are already there. It’s just a matter of putting them together.