What is one of the largest shifts in consumer food sourcing? According to the Understanding Fresh Food Subscription Study just released by Technomic, the global "meal kit" market has topped $1 billion in 2015 and is positioned to change the way consumers think about food at home.

The fresh food subscription market—also known as meal kits—is defined as a service designed to deliver fresh, pre-measured ingredients to the door steps of consumers. Technomic's proprietary study findings discovered this niche market is disrupting food consumption norms.

"This market initially gained traction overseas, but today the U.S. represents nearly 40% of the global market," says Erik Thoresen, principal at Technomic Inc. "We project the fresh food subscription market in the U.S. alone will grow to a multi-billion dollar market over the next five years. This growth is fueled by growing consumer acceptance of the subscription service model, as well as a strengthening food culture within the mainstream market."

In addition to measuring the current and future economic health of the industry, the Understanding Fresh Food Subscription Study delivers in-depth analysis of trends for the market to maximize global opportunities. Key takeaways from the report include:

• The U.S. market alone will grow by a factor of 10x over the next five years
• Worldwide revenues from fresh food subscriptions will top $10 billion by 2020
• The six focus regions of the study (North America, DACH, Benelux, UK, Australia and Scandinavia) account for over three-fourths of total spending.