HelloFresh SE is a publicly traded
meal kit
A meal kit is a subscription service–foodservice business model where a company sends customers pre-portioned and sometimes partially-prepared food ingredients and recipes to prepare homecooked meals. Services that send pre-cooked meals ...
company based in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
, Germany. It is the largest meal-kit provider in the United States,
and also has operations in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Europe (
GB,
D-A-CH
This article details the geographical distribution of speakers of the German language, regardless of the legislative status within the countries where it is spoken. In addition to the German-speaking area (german: Deutscher Sprachraum) in Europe, ...
,
Benelux
The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico- economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: ...
, France, Italy and
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
) and Japan.
It has been listed on the
Frankfurt Stock Exchange
The Frankfurt Stock Exchange (german: link=no, Börse Frankfurt, former German name – FWB) is the world's 12th largest stock exchange by market capitalization. It has operations from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm ( German time).
Organisation
Loca ...
since its
IPO
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
in November 2017.
History
HelloFresh was founded in November 2011 by Dominik Richter, Thomas Griesel, and Jessica Nilsson in
Berlin, Germany.
Richter and Griesel packed and hand-delivered to the first 10 customers. It was one of the earlier companies in the meal-kit industry.
They were initially funded by
Rocket Internet, a German startup studio company. They first started delivering meal kits to paying customers in early 2012, and expanded to the
Netherlands
)
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, UK, US and
Australia the same year. By 2014, the company claimed to be delivering 1 million meals per month.
They raised $50 million in a 2014 funding round, after having raised $10 million in 2012 and $7 million in 2013.
By March 2015, the company had 250,000 subscribers, although it was still not profitable.
In September of that year, it was valued at €2.6 billion in a funding round where it raised €75 million, making it a
unicorn company.
The company was still majority-owned by Rocket Internet at that time. It cancelled a planned IPO in November, due to concerns about the company's proposed value. It experienced significant growth during the year, with 530,000 subscribers by the end of October. It had 750,000 subscribers by July 2016,
and 1.3 million by the third quarter of 2017.
In October 2017, the company announced a planned
IPO
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange to raise $350 million.
On November 2, the company completed its IPO, valuing it at €1.7 billion.
At the time of its IPO, the company had a market capitalization of more than double
Blue Apron
Blue Apron Inc. is an American ingredient-and-recipe meal kit company headquartered in New York City, operating its services exclusively in the United States. It offers weekly boxes containing ingredients, which also includes suggested recipes th ...
, its largest US-based competitor.
In March 2018, HelloFresh acquired Green Chef, a US organic meal-kit company.
In October 2018,
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
-based HelloFresh
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
acquired Chefs Plate, a Canadian meal-kit company.
In 2019,
Rocket Internet sold its remaining stake in HelloFresh by accelerated
book building
Book building is a systematic process of generating, capturing, and recording investor demand for shares. Usually, the issuer appoints a major investment bank to act as a major securities underwriter or bookrunner.
Book building is an alternativ ...
to international institutional investors. Rocket Internet had held a 30.6% stake in HelloFresh, as of the end of 2018.
Business
HelloFresh's business model is to prepare the ingredients needed for a meal, and deliver them to customers, who must then cook the meal using recipe cards, which can take around 30–40 minutes. It generally provides about three two-person meals a week for about $60 to $70.
It offers a choice from about 19 recipes. In several markets, HelloFresh provides "Rapid Box" meals which take only 20 minutes to prepare.
In the United States, HelloFresh offers a wine-subscription service, based on that of its competitor Blue Apron. This subscription, HelloFresh Wine Club starts at $14.83 per bottle or $89 for the whole month (includes 6 bottles of wine). With the Wine Club, customers can also pick between All Reds, All White, or a Mixed Box (Red and White) for their wine.
In March 2018, HelloFresh announced their acquisition of Green Chef, a USDA-certified organic meal kit company. HelloFresh planned to use the acquisition to offer the largest selection of meal plans and diets for consumers on the market, adding Green Chef's organic vegan and gluten-free menus, including those plans compliant with
Paleo __NOTOC__
''Paleo'' may refer to:
Prehistoric Era, Age, or Period
* Paleolithic, a prehistoric Era, Age, or Period of human history
People
* David Strackany, aka "Paleo", an American folk singer-songwriter
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''P ...
and
Keto diets.
The company's US operations were responsible for 60% of revenues as of November 2017, and it has approximately 44% of the American market.
HelloFresh has operations in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
,
Australia,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
,
Switzerland,
the Netherlands
)
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, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
,
Sweden,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
,
Denmark
)
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, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
,
Japan,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
.
Union drive
Warehouse workers for HelloFresh in
Aurora
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
and
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
initiated a union drive with
UNITE-HERE
UNITE HERE is a labor union in the United States and Canada with roughly 300,000 active members. The union's members work predominantly in the hotel, food service, laundry, warehouse, and casino gaming industries. The union was formed in 2004 by ...
in September 2021.
HelloFresh management responded by hiring
Kulture Consulting, a "union avoidance"
consulting firm.
Workers were compelled to attend
captive audience meeting
A captive audience meeting is a mandatory meeting during working hours, organized by an employer with the purpose of discouraging employees from organizing or joining a labor union. It is considered a union busting tactic. Critics allege that cap ...
s with anti-union messages.
The Aurora election was held on November 22, and Richmond held its election on December 15; workers in both places voted decisively against unionization amid accusations of the company's interference and intimidation in the campaign, with the union contesting the results in Aurora.
In
Newark
Newark most commonly refers to:
* Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States
* Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area
Newark may also refer to:
Places Canada
* Niagara-on-the ...
and
Totowa,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, HelloFresh workers are unionizing with
Brotherhood of Amalgamated Trades.
Climate Labeling
In November of 2021, HelloFresh launched their Climate Labeling Initiative. This labeling is to let consumers know when recipes are producing up to 85% less CO2e emissions. The initial launch was in Germany, but as of December 19, 2022, the label is available in eight other EU countries (including AUS and NZ).
References
External links
*
US Website
{{Online food ordering
Food and drink companies of Germany
German companies established in 2011
Retail companies established in 2011
Transport companies established in 2011
Internet properties established in 2011
Food and drink companies based in Berlin
Companies listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
Online food ordering
Online retailers of Germany
2017 initial public offerings
Rocket Internet
Subscription services
Software companies of Germany
Companies in the MDAX