HelloFresh hit by sales slump as people lose appetite for meal kits | Food & drink industry
HelloFresh reported a sharp decline in sales as the food delivery company struggled with falling demand in the wake of the pandemic-era meal kit boom.
The German company was forced to cut 900 jobs in the UK last year due to the closure of a delivery facility in Nuneaton, and demand for meal kits has also fallen as revenue falls by more than 11% in 2025.
It said sales fell “due to various uncertainties in the macroeconomic environment and deliberate efforts to target a smaller but more profitable number of customers.”
HelloFresh and its rivals such as Gousto and Mindful Chef experienced rapid growth during Covid lockdowns, when people were told to stay at home, and at one point predicted revenues of €10bn (£8.6bn) by 2025. However, the company’s market value has collapsed significantly in recent years and turnover amounted to 6.8 billion euros last year.
The Berlin-based company’s share price has fallen 93% since its peak in 2021 as consumers move away from ready meals due to cost-of-living pressures. It fell 8% in early trading Wednesday.
HelloFresh responded with a retrenchment drive in 2024, which led to job cuts and delivery center closures in the UK and elsewhere in Europe. The company had 19,000 employees at the end of last year; this number was almost 21,800 the previous year.
It also pulled out of Spain and Italy, saying: “These markets do not currently offer a clear path to scale and sustainable profitability.”
Total orders fell 12% last year compared to 2024 as the number of meals delivered dropped by more than 100 million.
HelloFresh said it expects a further decline in revenues of up to 6% in 2026 after production problems in the US led to a loss of customers in the country.
Chief Executive Officer Dominik Richter said: “Over the past year we have seen consumer behavior shift decisively towards ‘eating real food’… The debate is no longer just about convenience, but the quality of what’s available.
“Customers are constantly raising the bar, and so should we.”
HelloFresh experienced an even sharper decline in revenue in the US, its largest market; where production bottlenecks and “food quality issues negatively impacted customer retention,” and sales fell nearly 17%, he said. The company also partly blamed high interest rates and Donald Trump’s trade tariffs for making customers more cautious.
