The rule of 7 says you need to see something around seven times before making a decision to buy it. I’ve seen enough Sakara reviews, influencer videos, and Instagram ads for the plant-based meal delivery service to hit this target at least a hundred times over, so it’s safe to say Sakara’s marketing team is familiar with this concept. If you’ve ever watched a “clean girl aesthetic” video on TikTok, shopped online for athleisure-adjacent clothing, or so much as browsed the schedule at your local pilates studio, you’ve probably gotten targeted ads for Sakara too.
Sakara is a plant-based meal delivery service that’s been endorsed by celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and Chrissy Teigen, as well as a slew of social media personalities who seem to live in matching workout sets. While I do enjoy a weekly megaformer class and I may have a Pinterest board of well-lit photos of green juice, I’ve never considered myself part of Sakara Life’s target audience. I’m not vegan, gluten-free, or particularly into supplements, three of the company’s main selling points. One of my primary hobbies is riding the subway all over New York City in search of the next life-changing bowl of noodles or slice of pizza.
So when I was asked to test Sakara’s signature nutrition program for work, I was fully prepared to hate it. For $420, I’d receive five days of ready-to-eat meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I kept joking with my friends about my week of “wellness girlie cosplay” and stocked my pantry with extra snacks so I wouldn’t go hungry. I figured this would probably be one of the healthiest weeks of my adult life, but I was not prepared to actually enjoy the food as much as I did.
The Delivery Experience
My Sakara delivery was scheduled to arrive late Sunday night, and it showed up right on time. I received a text message when the courier was near my apartment, and about half an hour later, there was a sleek black branded cooler bag waiting on my doorstep. There were enough ice packs in there that even if I had been asleep when it arrived, the food would have been fine until morning.
Since I ordered five days worth of meals, my delivery was split into two shipments. On Sunday night, I received breakfast, lunch, and dinner for Monday through Wednesday. I received a second delivery on Wednesday evening with meals for Thursday and Friday.
Everything arrived in neatly-stacked, recycled plastic containers that were clearly labeled. If a salad came with a component that needed heating, it came separate from the greens so nothing would get soggy. I balked a little at names like “Yoga Bunny Breakfast,” which felt unnecessarily infantilizing, but I had to admit that seeing containers filled with a rainbow of vegetables lined up on my kitchen counter made me feel oddly virtuous. I stocked my fridge with prepped meals, and put away the protein bars, bags of granola, and boxes of tea that came with my order. Then I ate a bunch of ice cream and went to bed, ready to start fresh in the morning.
The Food
Overall, I was impressed by both the diversity and the quality of the Sakara meals. Most of the Sakara reviews I read before trying it for myself said the food actually tasted good, but I didn’t believe it. As someone who puts condiments on my condiments, I expected to feel the need to doctor things up to make them taste better, but everything was already packed with flavor. The dishes ranged from Indian-ish (“clarity curry” soup with naan) to Mexican-ish (a lavender “cheez” quesadilla with broccoli pesto), and there was enough range that I didn’t get bored.