The UK arm of HelloFresh has revealed strong financial results for last year, confirming that more consumers are switching to the convenience of recipe boxes for making meals at home.
The market leader in the UK saw its revenue jump 69% to £430.7m in 2021 after the business delivered over 116 million meals to customers, a growth of 81.7% year-on-year.
According to HelloFresh data, half of British consumers are cooking more at home now compared to a decade ago and are using a wider variety of food. Despite the end of lockdown and the return of hospitality, the trend looks set to continue as UK consumers remain committed to cooking more from scratch and introducing more fresh ingredients (43%) and vegetables (25%) into their cooking.
In order to meet increasing demand, the company has been investing in its capabilities by growing headcount and adding new facilities in the UK. It is opening its third distribution centre in Derby this spring, which follows the opening of one in Nuneaton in 2020.
The company upped its headcount by 500 in 2021, increasing its UK workforce to over 2,000 people.
Laurent Guillemain, CEO of HelloFresh UK, said: “Our strong growth figures in the UK show that the British public truly believes in our vision of changing the way we eat forever. It was always going to be challenging to deliver on the growth we achieved in 2020, which was a year of lockdowns, but it’s great to see that we have surpassed all expectations.
“These figures would not be possible without the hard work and commitment of our team members, nor without the investments we’re making in the UK in terms of talent, infrastructure and sustainability. As we continue to grow, and more people begin to discover HelloFresh, I look forward to seeing what we achieve in 2022 and beyond.”
NAM Implications:
- “the British public truly believes in the HelloFresh vision of changing the way we eat forever”
- Whilst forever will take time…it may be time to think inside the box.
- i.e. Can you risk not being in the recipe box route to consumer?
