I still find it ironic as hell that people who are too busy to cook for themselves seem to have all these recipes lying around that they’re willing to hand over to a company for some free food.

Quite frankly, I’m shocked. The fact that Super Suppers hasn’t shut down completely is an absolute miracle. Either the numbers are wrong or there are some really brave souls out there who are waiting for the economic tide to turn. Despite the fact that banks are closing, businesses are closing, unemployment is through the roof, things are going to change any second, right?

So here’s the question, are there really that many stores still in operation out there, or is the ASSociation that puts these numbers together, sells these stores on their site and sells products to these owner at conventions trying to paint a much rosier picture than reality?

I find it impossible to believe that Super Suppers, who has all but abandoned their franchise, makes no marketing attempts and is getting by on hopes and dreams didn’t close a single store in the last 6 months.

Dream Dinners®, the leading meal assembly chain with more than 115 locations in the U.S., has retained Duo PR as its agency-of-record, effective immediately. In this role, the agency will focus on supporting Dream Dinners’ major consumer marketing initiatives and new product offerings via traditional media relations and grassroots campaigns, as well as provide all corporate communications counsel.

Dream Dinners in PR News

And how did the rest of the country fair? Sales are up, right? Well, no. More stores are now opening, right? Well, leeches are suckering in their friends and customers to buy into this dog and pony show.

According to some new figures it should come as no surprise that Dream Dinners and Super Suppers both had more store closings. Super Suppers is just inches away from dropping below 50 stores. Through miracle of miracle, Dream Dinners is somehow managing to stay afloat with 130 stores. Perhaps those Dream Dinners owners just can’t admit defeat. But in the long run 16 more companies failed and another 55 outlets shut down (more than likely the owners went bankrupt over it).

Personally, I think the numbers are much lower. I’d be surprised if Dream Dinners still had a 100 stores actually operating. They love to play fast and loose with their numbers and in the past they had no problem listing a store that had long since gone out of business as "temporarily closed". And considering they’ve actually removed the franchise link from their sites I would venture to say they aren’t selling any more locations. Probably haven’t sold a new franchise in quite awhile.

Super Suppers is on the outs. I think by the time the summer months roll around, Super Suppers will be nothing more than a bad memory.

And what about all those other franchises we used to hear about? Exactly.

As you might expect, 2010 is starting off with more of the same for meal assembly owners.

Looks like this is a desperate attempt by the owner to try and make money off some sort of franchise referral, or a sad attempt to see if anyone is stupid enough to buy a meal prep store and then unload her store on them "at a bargain price".

This is a pretty pathetic ploy. I can’t believe someone thinks this would work? Who would be moronic enough to buy into a Dream Dinners franchise, or any meal prep franchise for that matter? I can’t believe an owner would pull something like this on her customers.

Do you love Dream Dinners? Have you often thought what it would take to own your own store? Dream Dinners is looking for new franchise owners.

If you are looking for a fun, flexible, and gratifying business, Dream Dinners may be just the opportunity for you! Dream Dinners is the innovator and leader in the meal assembly business and has been for the last 8 years. There are existing stores/market areas available in North Carolina. It is a great opportunity to consider.

The investment depends on the store/location but is usually $125,000.00 – $200,000.00. You would be spending 30 – 50 hours per week on the business and a partner(s) is ideal. I do run the ****** store by myself and it is a lot of work. I am fortunate to have my original staff with me since I opened in September 2006 and they are a huge help. I love my Dream Dinners store and enjoy being there every day. The best part of my day is getting to talk to each Guest that visits the store.

I would be happy to talk with you further about the opportunities available.

Top things meal prep failed to do in 2009:

And just keep in mind, this is what the franchise should have done, not ideas that should have come from the stores. This is what the royalty payments should have bought.

Give away a scholarship

Make an iPhone app

Use any of their websites to generate a few million in extra cash

Be a major sponsor for a TV show or sporting event like The PapaJohns.com Bowl

Splash their name all over a racecar

Film a commercial at Times Square during New Years

Donate toys to any worthy cause

Anything related to our troops and their families? Perhaps a discount of some sort?

Any sort of charitable donation?

Open more stores than they closed

These are just a few examples of what other food related companies are doing. I included GoDaddy because I find their advertising methods very unique and interesting. Plus, they sell domain names. People need food more than domain names right? But yet somehow they always manage to come up with money to sponsor things like SuperBowls and other extremely visible events. Now if they would only sponsor Oprah or Dr. Phil, then they would make some real money.

So what are those royalty payments going to?

Further still, how many people has Dream Dinners let go? Back in the middle of 2008 they rumored to have dropped the axe and dispatched multiple people from the top, most in key roles of recipe development. Since they can’t exactly offer high dollar salaries have they replace these people? Or have they decided to use their dietician to rework all the recipes so they can offer them again without having to really spend anything? Did Dream Dinners actually crank out dozens of new, never before seen recipes in 2009?

And even if Dream Dinners didn’t fold up in 2009, they aren’t expanding their reach and haven’t since 2007. Two years of zero growth is always a bad thing in business.Their little meal prep world is shrinking around them and each month they have fewer stores open. Less stores, less income.

Let’s look to those at the top. Darin certainly hasn’t been their savior. His multi-pronged, multi-point plan of attack looks like a pretty big dud to me. You bring in a new CEO and he oversees the closing of about 100 stores? That’s gotta look good on a resume!

I’m sure Dream Dinners will say their new Dinners for Life program is a great success since over 50 of their stores are now offering this to their customers. First off, are they sure this is even their idea? Second, 50 stores is less than half of what they have left. Third, Dinners for Life comes with membership fees which I’m sure is a huge turn off for all their customers. Finally, this is an option within current stores, they still haven’t opened any new stores because of this idea, so how much revenue is this really bringing in? My guess? None. To me it’s just a way to distance themselves from the lawsuits of the parent company. The heart healthy menu wasn’t a million dollar idea, what’s the expectation for this one?

Dream Dinners is struggling for sure. It’ll be interesting to see how they fair in the first few months of 2010. I wouldn’t be surprised to see owners cast off the shackles of franchise ownership and start the new year out from underneath this business. I bet we see a surge in store closings.

Dream Dinners has been using their blogs to promote Dr. Brent, but how does that benefit owners?

Personally, I had to ask just who this Dr. Brent was. The answer? He’s a farmer, who Vanity Fair thinks is sexy.

Mind you, I see nothing wrong with Dr. Brent or his ideology, in fact they sound pretty good, but I’m just wondering how constantly promoting him promotes the meal assembly industry and helps the struggling store owner in this down economy.

If Dream Dinners can promote Dr. Brent, who doesn’t seem to have any affiliation with meal assembly, how come there isn’t a section on asking their dietician for help and guidance? It would seem a little more "grass roots" to me if they turned to someone within their own ranks. It’s certainly possible I missed it (perhaps that chef touched tips site is a gem and has all the answers), but so far, I’m not seeing it.

Why is Dream Dinners using the same marketing materials they used 3 years ago? (I think the pictures are even the same) If it didn’t work back then, what makes them think it will work now? Do they figure everyone has just forgotten? Is this what they’re spending all that marketing money on; free blogs and rehashed brochure material? Not to mention the free Twitter and Facebook accounts (that again seem to promote Dr. Brent more than anything else). Hmm, what is Dream Dinners actually paying for?

Dream Dinners is acting as though Dinners for Life is a new idea and new company, not just a menu change from their original idea. Remember how owners thought it was just a "test"? Dream Dinners couldn’t con(vince) busy mom’s to latch onto their idea but now they expect to con(vince) diabetics (who probably have even less time and stamina to stand around and make meals) that what they’re offering is a good idea? I recall Dream Dinners promoting their "heart healthy" menu, how did that work out for them? Did it bring in droves of new customers through the doors?

Where is the Dream Dinners iPhone/iPod Touch app? Considering this is the device for the person on the go (and is selling like wildfire), how come none of the meal prep companies have made a way to order while on the go? Pizza Hut managed to figure out how to do it.

Companies like Dell have been able to bring in an estimated $3 million in sales using Twitter. What has Dream Dinners corporate accomplished with their account and its 380 followers?

As an aside, the SuperSuppers account on Twitter isn’t even owned by Super Suppers HQ, it’s used by a forward thinking store owner. Just another example of how technology challenged the meal prep industry is. We can’t all be hairdressers I suppose. Kind of also makes you think Super Suppers really isn’t in the game anymore, doesn’t it?

What do owners plan to do when Dream Dinners drops below 100 stores (thereby having only half the stores open they used to have, or a 50% failure rate)? Considering how things are going this should happen within the next 90 to 120 days. Escape plan anyone? Golden parachute? Bankruptcy attorney on speed dial?

What will owners do if Dream Dinners corporate loses the $30 million lawsuit? That court case has to be resolved some time.

With Super Supper barely clinging to 60 stores, do owners have a plan for the corporate office declaring bankruptcy? Since they really don’t seem to have a leader anyway, will there actually be much difference?

Besides the obvious store closings the meal assembly industry is in pretty sad shape. There are so many missed opportunities and oversights. Those in charge clearly don’t have the business savvy to turn this ship around let alone keep it on a steady course. A steady course in this case would be smashing into an iceberg. It’s questions like these that would make me cringe and keep me awake at night.

Charlotte, NC – Dream Dinners of Fort Mill, a local dinner assembly franchise that specializes in providing easy-to-assemble entrees, has announced its sponsorship of another “Holiday Meals from the Heart” fundraiser to benefit families who are unable to afford Holiday dinners in the townships of Fort Mill and Tega Cay.

This event follows the Thanksgiving Fundraiser held by the franchise on November 17 in which owners Meera Pattison and Marybeth Lakshmanan, along with Professional Insurance Consulting, Inc. & Compass Community Magazines, raised enough funds to provide 11 local families with Thanksgiving Dinner. The event was well-attended by local area residents including Fort Mill mayor-elect George Sheppard who stopped by to show his support. “Because of the outpouring of support from the local community, 11 families were able to have a nice Thanksgiving meal-something they would not have been able to do if it weren’t for the generosity of the local community,” says Pattison.

Dream Dinners of Fort Mill Sponsors Holiday Fundraiser to Feed Families in Need

Super Suppers is nearly defunct, it exists in name only; there’s nothing holding this company up. Just look at the number of stores they’ve lost this year. What can you say about a 60%+ failure rate? Even the franchise creator has walked away to try something different.

The gals at Dream Dinners are relying on a new name and their brand new unique idea to bail them out of the troubles that have overshadowed them for the past year. Appealing to the busy working mom and family hasn’t worked out so now they’re going after the diabetic crowd, because clearly, they have a lot more time to come in and make meals.

Besides targeting this very niche market they’re also espousing the works of this mysterious Dr. Brent and rehashing all the same news articles from two to three years ago. It might make for good keyword indexing, but that’s about it. Endless stories of spending time around the dinner table and talking to your kids had their place. It got some interest back in the day, but you can’t keep playing the same song over and over again. It’s time for something new, or better yet, it’s time to come to terms with reality.

Even with this “new” image the leopard can’t change its spots and in the end Dinners for Life will get the same acceptance as the parent company. There might be a spike in customers, perhaps even a spike in owners who ignore the truth, but this new idea will burn out more quickly than the idea it’s based on. Dream Dinners is quickly crashing to 100 stores (down from 220, and certainly down from 180 when declarations were made that everything was fine).

Even the meal assembly experts have decided to keep quiet. Are you hearing any real news about this industry? Has anything of consequence really happened this year? Will anything of consequence happen next year? What was the last meal assembly article you read? And what was the last big ad campaign?

Meal assembly ended last year, but some people refuse to admit it. How some stores got this far is a mystery to me; there’s no money to be made in it. We certainly didn’t make 3,000 stores and a billion dollars in revenue did we?