The COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe, affecting almost every business and industry there is.
Though most industries struggled to recover and adapt to the “new normal” over the past year, the food industry, however, appeared to have found, if not solidified, its footing.
According to a report published this year by The Business Research Company, the global online food delivery services market is expected to grow from $115.07 billion in 2020 to $126.91 billion in 2021 as a result of COVID-19.
This comes as no surprise, especially in Singapore.
Since the country reported its first case of COVID-19 in January 2020, Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH) had reinforced numerous safety measures and guidelines to help stop the spread of the virus in the community.
With dining-in becoming a “no-go” during Phase 1 of the Circuit Breaker, most local F&B establishments made online food delivery their primary mode of operation. And despite the current Stabilisation Phase’s less stringent dining-in rules (i.e., a vaccinated pair is allowed to dine-in), food deliveries continue to skyrocket.
This was also the case with ReLacto, a local, award-winning lactation food delivery service.
“We launched ReLacto after noticing a high demand for lactation food delivery in Singapore,” said a ReLacto representative.
“Since we opened for business, we’ve helped many new mothers in Singapore who wanted to continue breastfeeding after confinement, particularly those who don’t have the time to prepare nutritious lactation meals for themselves while caring for their newborns,” the ReLacto representative added.
ReLacto is Singapore’s first lactation meal delivery service, offering over 100 fusion and Chinese dietitian-guided cuisines.
They quickly became popular among Singaporean mothers for their diverse and well-balanced lactation meals, which contain all the nutrients and lactogenic ingredients new mothers need for lactation and recovery after confinement.
According to the ReLacto representative, on average, they deliver over 3,300 meals per month to new mothers all over Singapore.
“We offer a diverse lactation menu that has been carefully curated by our award-winning chef and in-house certified dietitian. All our meals are well-balanced, MSG-free, and breastfeeding-friendly, and mothers can choose to have either single or double meals.”
The lactation food delivery service reported a monthly average growth of more than 15% in purchases of their lactation meal packages, of which they have 10 in total, excluding a Trial Meal package for mothers who want to try their food.
Aside from those, ReLacto also offers healthy Bento meal sets for other members of the family. Their Bento sets are a special add-on option to their lactation meal packages.
“We actually created these Bento meals because we wanted to help provide a healthy and convenient food option for other members of a mother’s family, given how difficult it is to go out and buy or prepare daily meals in the current situation.”
“Our Bento meals are freshly prepared daily and delivered alongside a mother’s daily meals. So while the mother has her lactation meals, the rest of the family can join her by having their own hassle-free variety of non-lactogenic Taiwanese, Japanese, and Chinese Wok-cooked meals.”
According to the ReLacto representative, their Bento add-ons have been well-received by Singaporean mothers and their families during the Stabilisation Phase, with monthly sales increasing by 59% on average.