I don't get 'hello fresh'

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Some friends of ours raved about hello fresh, do when they offered us a free box we jumped at the chance. But I just don't get it! I've had my 4 meals delivered and other than it bring pre-portioned out I don't see how it's easier than just making Ng your. Own stuff. I assumed that the meat and veg would come pre-prepped, peeled, chopped etc. But they don't! I'm still chopping peeling and mashing stuff. And I still have to do the weekly shop as it's only 4 evening meals.

Is it just that I'm not their target market? We cook from scratch anyway and I know how to cook. Is this aimed at ready meal/ take away/ freezer food every night people?

We had a falling out with hello fresh when some of the fresh stuff arrives rotting and mouldy on a few occasions. We didn’t complain until we got completely fed up with it. They weren’t very helpful and talked us out of cancelling and sent us a free box. It was atrocious and when we rang to discuss it the woman we spoke to went wild and ranted and raved at us. Shortly afterwards we found out they’d cancelled it for us so I suppose that was the silver lining. Never again......

It's for people who don't want to look up recipes or decide what to eat from an unlimited selection. With Hello Fresh you can only choose from a limited selection. It's also for people who might want to try new things but don't want to buy whole containers of lots of different obscure ingredients.

It's not meant to save time really. It's for people who like to cook but don't know what or how to cook.

@RickiTarr

What's really crazy is that some people are as judgemental as you

Maybe I’m being too dismissive but I don’t see it. Can you please explain the unique selling point it provides?

Once in my lost youth, I worked with product launches for a few years and this one wouldn’t have looked like a goer to me. I suppose things moved on in that time, but as PP said, I’d have thought prepped ingredients would be needed to make this a real time-saver and worth it for the price.

Happy to be enlightened.

I started HelloFresh after the birth of my first child. It was a big weight off of my shoulders to not have to worry about what to cook, to know that everything would arrive pre weighed etc and also to know that the portion sizes were correct

It also allows me to try new flavours that I possibly wouldn't normally try

HelloFresh is a mind blowing simple idea that I think you either love or hate

I love cooking. And I think I'm pretty good at it. I run a successful food blog. And yet I still love the convenience of HelloFresh

I grabbed a free box when it came up and let my teenage sons pick and cook their own meals.

Although we don't get HF anymore, it gave them ideas and they've kept up planning and cooking most of their own meals so they can eat the high protein low carb gym bunny diet they prefer! I don't eat meat, and it's a relief not to have to cook it for them anymore.

But I don't think portioned up, packaged up everything is an economical way to eat and am teaching my boys some life skills around that. E.g. buying discounted/in season, buying and cooking in bulk, how to store/preserve/freeze, ways to use up leftovers.

For the cost of one HF meal they can feed themselves all day, with change.

I’ve just tried hello fresh and loved it - both me and DP work full time and I work shifts so nights weekends etc and sometimes I’m just too tired to cook anything other than basic boring meals . It means we have tried new things and liken it to stuff you would normally eat at a restaurant for example - stuff you wouldn’t normally cook for yourself at home .

Yes they still have basic options like beef ragu etc but they also do different street foods that I would never even think of cooking myself at home .

It just adds a bit more variety and is a bit of excitement in this mundane life we have now .

And it costs the same for 4 meals for 2 people as it does for what we would normally spend on one takeaway.

We are trying a Morrison’s fresh box this week which is £32 for 5 meals for 2 people and I’m excited!

I have to say I don’t think we’re the right demographic for any of these meal kit boxes so I’ve never been even remotely inclined to buy one but I can see they’ve hit on a really good business idea.
We cook every night from scratch, fresh ingredients, organic meat, as little packaging as possible, as seasonably as possible. I get an online food delivery once a week, dh goes to the butchers and the (amazing) veg shop once a week.
They’re not for us at all but we are quite adventurous cooks and with the exception of ds aren’t particularly fussy eaters, no allergies either.
Meal kit boxes don’t offer us anything that we struggle with. Not everything will suit everyone.

We now use Gousto 4 nights each week and it has saved my sanity during lockdown. I love cooking but the sheer monotony of planning and cooking family dinner every night was really wearing me down.
We never choose a meal we'd have anyway, so new experiences every week for all of us. We each cook one night per week (incl the 12 year old), no food waste, portions perfect for us so no leftovers or eating too much just because it's there.
Then on weekends we eat our old favourites.
Truly life changing!

How much is Hello fresh if you don’t use an offer?

I go to my local mccolls shop for other stuff. I've been going in there for 9 years and they don't judge me for not wearing a mask. They only do convenience foods, so over time its not healthy.
It costs me somewhere round £30 for 2 meals 3 days a week. It lasts me longer because I'm on my own.

@ThatOtherPoster

How much is Hello fresh if you don’t use an offer?

Think I pay around £48 for 4 meals a week for 3 people

Like others have mentioned, we've used it at times to change up our meals a bit. It gets so easy to get in a rut cooking the same old meals during the week. And if you want to get creative it can be quite costly buying full sizes of various ingredients you don't normally use. So that's why we liked it.

Think I pay around £48 for 4 meals a week for 3 people

That sounds like a lot, but it’s only £4 per person per meal, which isn’t bad. We cook everything from scratch, shop at Aldi and do weekly meal plans, but our shopping bills are still sky-high.

I might try this to get the teens cooking.

But yes, I had assumed they’d have at least peeled the veg.

@RickiTarr for me, I use gousto sometimes. I live alone and use it to do recipes where you need something I don't always have in and am not sure I like
So I don't have to go and buy 15 different bottles/spices etc, it's all there. If I like the recipe then I buy the stuff myself and cook it again and then try another one
Essentially experimenting with recipes without the risk of being lumbered with a load of random stuff I won't ever use again

I alternate between Gousto, batch cooking stuff like pasta bake/beef stew/cottage pie and simple meals like omelettes and salads. Works well for me

@ThatOtherPoster

Think I pay around £48 for 4 meals a week for 3 people

That sounds like a lot, but it’s only £4 per person per meal, which isn’t bad. We cook everything from scratch, shop at Aldi and do weekly meal plans, but our shopping bills are still sky-high.

I might try this to get the teens cooking.

Yes I found it was initially more than I would usually spend however I actually spend less overall in the week as I'm not tempted by all the different things in the supermarket if that makes sense?

I mean it isn't going to work for everyone. We've been getting Guosto for about 4 years now. We've got HF a few times as well.
Even with our 18 month old, we're still doing it 4x weekly.

For us it takes away the whole 'what are we having for tea this week' which I just can't be bothered with.
I don't like to buy large bags of carrots when I only need 2 for a meal. It drastically reduces waste.
The meals are excellent in my opinion and our daughter enjoys them too.

I personally love following recipes, so it works for us there too.

I still do the weekly shop, but because of the meal variety, my weekly shop doesn't take long as I'm going round to get the usual stuff in the usual places for lunches and breakfast etc. I don't have to consult a list which will vary depending on what meals we're having.
It works for us and our family. We can afford it. We love it.

If you cook from scratch and know how to cook, and like doing that then no, you are not their target market

Neither am I, but that’s because am a deliveroo/ready meals devotee

I am a bit surprised that they're as popular as they are, mainly because of the cost and also because they still require quite a bit of effort to prepare.

I don't think I fit their target market as for me, the only off putting thing about cooking is the peeling and chopping.

I enjoy looking at recipes, I spent a lot of time looking for ideas, including on supermarkets' own websites and have a reasonable repertoire of stuff I can make without checking a recipe. I am quite good at meal planing and doing my online shop to make sure everything I buy gets used (eg if I'm buying a pack of mince, I'll make sure to choose meals that will use it up). None of that is particularly laborious to me and I suppose those are the things that the boxes save people from doing as much of.

I've seen PPs suggesting a meal could work out as £4pp, but to me that's quite a lot, mine would be more like £1.50-£2.50pp. I do a lot of bulk cooking and use a lot of frozen veg and tinned stuff to keep costs down.

To me, they seem a bit extravagant price wise and they don't save you the peeling and the chopping, so for those reasons, they would not suit me.

[quote QueenPaw]@RickiTarr for me, I use gousto sometimes. I live alone and use it to do recipes where you need something I don't always have in and am not sure I like
So I don't have to go and buy 15 different bottles/spices etc, it's all there. If I like the recipe then I buy the stuff myself and cook it again and then try another one
Essentially experimenting with recipes without the risk of being lumbered with a load of random stuff I won't ever use again

I alternate between Gousto, batch cooking stuff like pasta bake/beef stew/cottage pie and simple meals like omelettes and salads. Works well for me [/quote]
That makes sense.

I remember trying to build a selection of herbs, spices etc when I was 19 and it was proportionately expensive when you’re shopping for one.

Is it basically the same as Hello Fresh? Still need to chop veg etc?

I dont get it either. My friend gets it for her and her husband, but goes shopping weekly to get stuff for her kids. She makes the effort for herself and him but bungs in a pasta bake for the kids.......then wonders why they wont eat anything new

I hate the advert as it shows young children happily tucking into a plate containing visible vegetables !
this just wouldn't happen here.😂

I just can’t imagine finding meal planning a chore. That’s an eye opener. I love planning food. Probably why I gained a stone in lockdown.

I like the fact there’s very little wastage but otherwise prefer Simply Cook. You get the ideas and the spices but can buy the ingredients more cheaply and don’t have to have the meal(s) straight away. Simply Cook recipes don’t need lots of ingredients for a really nice meal. Simply Cook is expensive for what it is though.

I also find Hello Fresh quite elaborate even though I am a regular cook, plus struggle to find enough recipes I like. Finally when I’m back at work, delivery will be tricky - they only offer a set delivery day per week. I’m not continuing after my trial.

@PrincessTuna - I'd left it too late to select what turns up but I'm getting chicken/plum/bok choi stir fry and the Herby burgers and wedges, which should be edible no matter what.

If they are ok I'll try the lamb roast and the bream meal.

It does look like the sort of thing that's worth it when you have an offer, not really otherwise, but if they're a similar price to quality ready meals and cheaper than Cook or takeaway, then they may have a place in our house - one kid is very into cooking atm but I'm tired of writing out recipes off the internet in comprehensible ways.

I like Gousto because I don't have to think about what to make, buy, use up the rest of etc. It's just easy lazy cooking for me