I am curious as to the opinion of Canadians with regards to M & M Meat Shops.
I know that they are a franchise with many locations.
I am toying with the idea of buying a location and most people that I know think pretty highly of M&M, but I would like to hear some more opinions.
Please, let me know what your thoughts are.
The food is pretty good for premade. Some of the things are excellent, and nothing I would rate as terrible. I would shop there more often if there was a location slightly closer to me, (its not far at all, actually, just off my beaten track) although I still do an M&M shop at least every other month.
I have no idea about franchises, locations, profitabability, or anything. Some of my co workers complain that its always crowded when they go. Everyone I know LOVES something from there… I can’t help but think the right location etc could be a little gold mine. But then again, dont ask me, YMMV, IANAbusiness consultant, caveat emptor, etc etc
There are two M & M shops here in Victoria. We will purchase from the one that’s more convenient to us. Location of the store is probably key–I imagine that most customers are similar to my husband and myself. That is, buying frozen pre-made meals and meat products is going to appeal to people like us who work full-time and have other obligations as well, and who are likely to be tired or uninspired at 5:37 p.m. on a Wednesday evening. Hence, if it’s an easy location to pop into on the way home from work, it’s going to be an appealing dinner idea. The stores don’t take up a lot of space, so they fit well into strip-mall type locations. I think you have to find a location that’s on the way home for people who work full-time. Retirees, stay-at-home-mums, and such may not find the store as compelling. You’d have to keep a location open until 7 or later, though, to get the working-late-at-the-office, now-I’m-hungry, don’t-want-fast-food types to stop in.
I like the turkey sausage rounds and the lasagna. I had trouble with the individual fancy chicken breasts (either I ended up over or undercooking them for some reason). We both love the pepper steaks.
I had seen both places and was vaguely aware of them, but didn’t try anything out until a co-worker recommended them. Advertising doesn’t work as well for me as does word-of-mouth.
So, that’s my customer point of view! I don’t know how helpful it is, but we’re customers.
I don’t particularly care for their food, but it isn’t horrible either. I find it kind of bland.
The reason that I don’t shop there is because you must belong to a loyalty program and present a card / phone number or whatever or else you pay a premium for their products. I don’t do loyalty programs.
I have a generally positive opinion of these stores although I don’t go to them much. I get the majority of my meat from my parents’ cattle operation so it’s not a pressing need most of the time. (I know they sell more than meat, it’s just how I tend to think of them) I like their kabobs, though.
I can’t say that I ever shopped in one.
Do they sell to the public? IM or email, please, if you see this post.
I live across the street from one, and I’ve never gone in. I don’t understand how they can make money with a store that basically just sells TV dinners.
They put M&Ms in meat now? Gross!
I find their products a mixed bag. Some of the premade foods, like the pies and quiches and such, are pretty good as premade foods go. The meats aren’t very good.
Generally M&M stuff is okay, but having tried them a couple of times I always end up thinking “why make a separate trip here when I could get the same stuff at the grocery store?”
But that has nothing to do with whether or not you should operate one.
The only time I go to M&M is if I’m entertaining a large group of people and need a lot of hors d’oeuvre. Haven’t been back since last Christmas.
And you may want to wait a while since a bunch of shrimp just got recalled…
M&M meats = CC
Here in Edmonton, there are dozens of locations, and each one always seems to be doing well. I spend hundreds there each month.
Never tried the shrimp though - the word on the street is to stay away from it for awhile…
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There is one in our neighbourhood, and we never go there, because it is across the street and we get all we need from Safeway. I have no particular complaints about it - I just don’t dig grocery shopping so much that I want to visit more than one store to do it.
They’re actually getting out of the business, but thanks for asking.
Take a close look at your target clientel. There is nothing really wrong with the food (with the possible exception of the shrimp, it seems). It’s frozen and convenient for many.
Personally I find it bland so rarely visit. Most of my friends have stopped shopping there. Most usually because age has set them on a diet low in processed foods, for one reason or another. And M&M foods are all pretty highly processed.
My ex-girlfriend’s father had his freezer full of M&M Meats pre-made dinners. I think my mom always has some on hand too. She likes them because it means she has something on hand for the times she’s just too busy to cook. She doesn’t eat them regularly.
I don’t mind the taste of the ones I can eat. I don’t eat meat, but they have non-meat based meals too. I find them sort of bland, but not offensively so. I don’t shop there myself and don’t expect I ever will, but that’s because I prefer to eat fresh food and not frozen stuff.
When I was a student, my buddies would load up on them! I had a roommate with his own enormous freezer that was just full of M&M dinners. If you’re looking at buying a shop in a university town that is anywhere near the student ghetto, it would probably do well.
I’ve bought meatballs there. They were pretty good. Other than that, I have no opinion of them.
We shop there from time-to-time. I echo what most people have said: the frozen stuff there isn’t really that different than what you can get at the grocery store.
We read the fliers for all stores on the weekend, and will make separate trips anywhere if the price is right. So, if something is on sale at M&M at a decent price we might make a separate stop. We rarely go there to buy stuff at the regular price. Then again, we don’t make a lot of frozen meal dinners.
There are franchises where people will buy kits of fresh ingredients to prepare at home. I’m not sure what they’re called; I’m sure Google could help. These seem to be all the rage these days in double income neighbourhoods. You pick out pre-sliced fresh vegetables, meat, seasonings, and the recipe and prepare it at home, or freeze it for future use. I haven’t seen one in my neck of the woods, but would be more willing to support that concept than M&Ms.
And why the heck is the Google ad for “Undo Circumcision Damage - The Your-Skin Cone will make you supple and sensitive like uncut men TLCTugger.com” 
Meat. Just mention “meat”, and…