03/06/2023

Home Chef Plans 1st East Coast Facility in Baltimore

Manufacturing and distribution center will accommodate online meal delivery service for Kroger-owned brand

Digital Editor

A rendering of Home Chef's new facility in Baltimore. (Image credit: Northpoint Development)

Meal solutions company Home Chef is expanding manufacturing and distribution with its plans to open a fourth production facility this summer, in Baltimore. The new center, at 1701 East Patapsco Avenue, will create more than 500 jobs in Charm City by 2024 and be Home Chef's first East Coast site to provide meals to the company's growing customer base.

While The Kroger Co.-owned meal solutions brand is available online and at retail, the new space will specifically accommodate its online delivery service, which rotates more than 30 meal options weekly.

The 170,000-square-foot Baltimore facility will be Home Chef's largest by volume, accounting for more than 30% of Home Chef's meal solutions delivered nationwide. The production and distribution center was designed specifically to meet Home Chef's food safety standards and will provide increased efficiencies for docking, storage and facility flow.

Home Chef's new 170,000-square-foot space will accommodate the brand's online meal delivery service, which rotates more than 30 meal options weekly.

Home Chef offers recipes in many formats – from Classic Meal Kits to minimal-mess Oven-Ready and Fast & Fresh meals, family-friendly options, and Culinary Collection recipes for more adventurous home cooks – plus add-ons like protein packs, beverages, salads, desserts and more.

"Our new facility will put us even closer to our customers, allowing us to deliver fresher ingredients and a wider range of meal options to East Coast homes," said Erik Jensen, CEO of Chicago-based Home Chef. "Maryland is a great place for our first home in this part of the country, and we look forward to making a positive impact in the Baltimore community."

The Maryland Department of Commerce, in partnership with the Maryland Economic Development Assistance Authority and Fund, and Baltimore Development Corp., worked proactively with Home Chef to assist with project costs, location services and more.

This is Home Chef's second expansion in less than a year. The company recently expanded its southeast footprint by opening a 181,000-square-foot production facility in Douglasville, Ga.

Founded in 2013, Home Chef is available online and in retail at more than 2,400 stores in the Kroger Family of Companies. Serving 11 million customers daily through a digital shopping experience and retail food stores under a variety of banner names, Cincinnati-based Kroger is No. 4 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer's 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. PG also named the company one of its Retailers of the Century.