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Any opinions or predictions for the alternative meal prep box services, like Hello Fresh etc. ?

adrianpike 9y ago
We use Hello Fresh. They're still iterating on the logistics side on a weekly basis - different shipments may use totally different packing materials. Initially there was a _ton_ of packing material waste every week, now it's way down. Big plus. They're starting to cross-sell with wine pairings, which makes me think they're needing to drive LTV. The problem I see is they haven't managed to build anything defensive. I've got not real brand loyalty, they're not capturing much information about my meal preferences other than what I order, and we're starting to get repeated meals. We'll probably cancel before the end of the year, even though it's been an enjoyable subscription overall to date. I'm not bullish on 'em, but would love to be proven wrong. :)
- soVeryTired 9y ago
  Gusto is just as good
tunesmith 9y ago
We've tried a few and prefer Plated. For us anyway, it's a nice mix of simple and creative.
wtvanhest 9y ago
We used Platjoy for a while (doesn't ship you food, just makes buying food from grocery/instacart easy) and provides recipes. It was pretty good for a bit, but the recipes were not as good as we would have liked. I think services like Platjoy make the most sense in the future combined with automated ordering from services like Instacart. It makes more sense IMO to only handle half the equation when the two businesses do not need to be integrated. (logistics on one hand, recipe on the other)
mcintyre1994 9y ago
HelloFresh added a surcharge of £4.99 for the best meals in each box (salmon/steak). I used it a while ago but stopped because it just felt too expensive to be worth it and I forgot to cancel a box I couldn't use. They phoned me a few weeks ago and offered a nice discount on two boxes, I'll probably use them at some point but every box I want has that surcharge and I doubt I'll come back properly. You can skip weeks further ahead than just one now though, that's a nice comfort. I actually think they might've dropped the price on the base box.. but something about that surcharge just triggers a "this isn't a deal any more" reflex in me - it's really offputting for me and has definitely stopped me considering it seriously again. Also all their recipes are available for free, I don't see their moat. Their recipes and food are good though.

We use Hello Fresh. They're still iterating on the logistics side on a weekly basis - different shipments may use totally different packing materials. Initially there was a _ton_ of packing material waste every week, now it's way down. Big plus. They're starting to cross-sell with wine pairings, which makes me think they're needing to drive LTV. The problem I see is they haven't managed to build anything defensive. I've got not real brand loyalty, they're not capturing much information about my meal preferences other than what I order, and we're starting to get repeated meals. We'll probably cancel before the end of the year, even though it's been an enjoyable subscription overall to date. I'm not bullish on 'em, but would love to be proven wrong. :)

soVeryTired 9y ago
Gusto is just as good

tunesmith 9y ago

We've tried a few and prefer Plated. For us anyway, it's a nice mix of simple and creative.

wtvanhest 9y ago

We used Platjoy for a while (doesn't ship you food, just makes buying food from grocery/instacart easy) and provides recipes. It was pretty good for a bit, but the recipes were not as good as we would have liked. I think services like Platjoy make the most sense in the future combined with automated ordering from services like Instacart. It makes more sense IMO to only handle half the equation when the two businesses do not need to be integrated. (logistics on one hand, recipe on the other)

mcintyre1994 9y ago

HelloFresh added a surcharge of £4.99 for the best meals in each box (salmon/steak). I used it a while ago but stopped because it just felt too expensive to be worth it and I forgot to cancel a box I couldn't use. They phoned me a few weeks ago and offered a nice discount on two boxes, I'll probably use them at some point but every box I want has that surcharge and I doubt I'll come back properly. You can skip weeks further ahead than just one now though, that's a nice comfort. I actually think they might've dropped the price on the base box.. but something about that surcharge just triggers a "this isn't a deal any more" reflex in me - it's really offputting for me and has definitely stopped me considering it seriously again. Also all their recipes are available for free, I don't see their moat. Their recipes and food are good though.