EverSafe meal kits

[SoFloAuthor]

In researching my new book, "What To Do 'til The Cavalry Comes: A Family Guide To Preparedness in 21st Century America", (release in Mid-May 06), I spoke with the folks at Wornick who told me they had plans to introduce the product into the workplace. (IE: banks, post office, and corporations) Not to consumers. There were plans to test market the product to consumers in the future.

The EverSafe Bowl product was shown to me in this format:

The bowls offer bigger pieces of food as they are deeper than a pouch is thick. (pouches are a quarter inch thick, bowls are like three quarters of an inch, or an inch deep).

The "Complete" Meal Kit also comes with drinking water included where as the pouch meal (cousin to the MRE) does not.

I sampled a meal and found it to taste good and the texture to be more like "real food" than MRE's, this is because of the larger pieces of food in the bowls.

The packaging was attractive (calming blue colors) and indicated a way to introduce normalcy with a hot meal during a disaster type situation to the general population.

They have a good shot at selling a ton of them during the upcoming hurricane season if they would make an attempt to market it, but I've yet to see it offered except on USCAV.com (pouches not bowls)

Looks like for now I'll have to rely on my old faithfuls...tan bags.

Be safe and be prepared!

[kman]

Welcome to the forums, SoFloAuthor!

When did Wornick show you the EverSafes? It's interesting that they're telling you they have no plans to market to consumers because they're already selling them online like you mentioned. Maybe the genius who came up with that idea was the same guy who decided it'd be smart to hire illegal aliens to work in their Texas plant. (link here)

CaptBob (on this forum) has his own contacts at Wornick and he's tried a case of EverSafe's. Hey CaptBob - did your contacts say anything to you about how they planned to introduce the product into the marketplace.

It would seem pretty stupid to ignore regular consumer and only target the workplace. Then again, this is the same company that got out of the civilian MRE market after Y2K and let Sopakco have all the business.

[SoFloAuthor]

I spoke with them at length in Orlando at a tradeshow in March 06, and again in April 06. I was told they were going to "test market EverSafe in the inter-mountain west" of the U.S. That's Utah.

I was also told they test marketed them in two markets in Florida last year with no success.

I found that interesting because I live in the hurricane prone "Plywood State", and I'd never heard of or seen the product until I researched my book. I actually found a meal advertised on EBAY! and then contacted Wornick.

Those in my publishing and R&D circles have all said they would be interested in a civilian product, meaning I could sell 100 plus pallets in a day, yet a company spokeswoman said the focus at this time was to market to corporations and infrastructure groups to maintain a continuity of business in a disaster area.

Let's hope "somebody" in the shelf stable foods business steps up and realizes soon there is a huge market out here for the product and in order to get it into the public's preparedness pantry they are going to have to spend a little marketing money....in the end it will profit them.

After all the government keeps telling all Americans to PREPARE for 72 hours yet nobody is telling them HOW to prepare...that is until they read my basic guide!

Captain Bob if you read this, contact me.

"Failure to prepare is nothing more than preparing for failure"

[BobS]

Hey folks,

Just checked and Wornick's new Eversafe meal kit site is finally up (geteversafe.com). It is...interesting.

The free offer turns out to be buy nine meals (for a 72 hour kit) and get one free to sample.

Packaging is more commercial. First impressions: I like Sopacko better.
What do you think?

BobS

[mw509]

The free offer turns out to be buy nine meals (for a 72 hour kit) and get one free to sample.

Drats! Also it says they cost $7.69 per meal. For the price I would rather have an MRE.

[kman]

Yes, that's really the problem that I don't see anyone overcoming yet. The real MREs are usually available from Ebay for (let's say) $70 case including shipping. If the Eversafes or Sure-Paks are the same price, why would you not get the real deal?

Of course, the main answer to that all the issues you might have with Ebay MREs - don't know the real storage conditions, where they came from, is it a trustworthy seller, etc. For a person looking for a few cases of MREs, Ebay might be fine. But for someone looking for a guarantee or someone looking to stock up on a lot of cases, the Eversafes might be a better way to go.

I'd be happy if they'd just produce a civilian MRE that exactly matched the military MRE. Then it might be worth paying a little extra for the civilian versions.

[SoFloAuthor]

Try MREfoods.com

They appear to be the real deal

Price INCLUDES shipping!

Packaging IS from one of the "big three" but I can't tell which AND they include a heater.

[DangerousDave]

Yea, Rock on Kman. Theres so much BS MRE ebay crap, I agree, Eversafe my ass, just go for the real deal, and they gott'm down in Loosiana, out the wazoo, on Ebay!

[donelurkin]

Looked at the eversafe site. Very interesting. Not surprising that it does not appeal to hardcore MRE users--not as much bang for the buck. But I do think there is a market for this type of meal. Kman hit it on the head: an office manager or school principal could justify ordering a bunch of these to stock for emergencies and not have a lot of explaining to do. Not so with an ebay purchase.

I may buy a case just to check it out. I like the fact that there is water in it (although it must not be much water). A nice touch.

Wish they had online ordering.