Kroger buys Chicago-based Home Chef for $200 mn

Kroger, has planned to buy Chicago-based meal-kit seller Home Chef for $200 million in order to grab a larger chunk of the online grocery market.

Like other meal-kit firms, Home Chef offers doorstep delivery of recipes to its subscribers. Kroger will pay $200 million for Chicago-based Home Chef, and may pay an additional $500 million over five years provided the sales reach desired milestones. Kroger plans to bring Home Chef kits in its supermarkets.

Competition among meal-kit companies is fierce. Albertsons bought Plated last year, Walmart is expanding its easy-to-make dinners, and meal-kit company Blue Apron started selling some of its kits in Costco stores. Amazon, which bought Whole Foods last year, also sells its own meal kits.

Kroger Co., the 2,800 store brand may close the deal in the second quarter.