Albertsons Cos. has agreed to acquire meal-kit company Plated. Deal activity for online meal providers is picking up steam, as diners seek convenient food options without leaving their homes.

Plated, based in New York and founded in 2012, offers flexible meal plans featuring 17 new recipes each week that use fresh ingredients. The grocery retailer is planning on placing Plated meal-kits in its stores. Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons operates around 2,300 stores and is known for the Safeway brand.

"Today's consumer is looking for a variety of personalized shopping alternatives, and this transaction is the latest example of Albertsons Cos. meeting our customers wherever and however they like to shop," says Albertsons CEO Bob Miller.

"Joining Albertsons Companies presents an amazing opportunity to accelerate our positive impact on the future of food in America by making fresh, delicious food more widely available," adds Plated CEO Josh Hill. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Credit Suisse is advising Albertsons.

Grocery store chains are facing intensified competition from online meal companies and are feeling heat from Amazon.com Inc.'s (Nasdaq; AMZN) pending purchase of Whole Foods. In other deals, Nestlé USA acquired a minority stake in online meal provider Freshly in 2017, and Grubhub Inc. (NYSE: GRUB) has agreed to acquire Yelp Inc.'s (NYSE: YELP) Eat24 online food delivery business for $287.5 million.