HelloFresh: a dietitian’s review after one week of testing (2025)

Overview of HelloFresh

HelloFresh is currently the global leader in meal kit boxes. The brand delivers more than 1 billion meals each year and has over 7.5 million active customers worldwide. 

This German company founded in 2011 in Berlin is today a multinational listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. It is present in most countries in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. 

HelloFresh arrived in France in 2018, and offers meal-kit boxes with the goal of allowing its customers to eat “homemade” dishes, with fresh, quality ingredients. Delivered directly to their homes each week.

The concept is aimed at people who want to eat healthier, avoiding processed foods and who don’t have the time to shop or plan their menus.

It’s also a good way to learn to cook gently, with the assurance of having all the ingredients on hand.

HelloFresh offers different plans. You can choose 3 to 6 recipes per week for 2 to 6 people. 

Vegetarians aren’t left out because HelloFresh offers every week at least 7 vegetarian recipes. You can also add extras to your box such as desserts, ready-to-heat dishes, or cheese depending on your needs and preferences.

Each week, you can choose from 21 varied and diverse recipes. They are original and appetizing and are categorized into different items: 

• Rapido for recipes that can be prepared in 25 minutes or less
• Spicy often features recipes from world cuisine 
• Vegetarian without meat or fish 
• Family for more traditional dishes 
• Light containing less than 650 kcal per serving 

In order to try as many recipes as possible, I tested the one-week plan with 5 recipes for 2 people.

Our review

Products ★★★★★

I received my package 5 days after selecting my recipes via a refrigerated courier.

I was able to choose a delivery window that fit my schedule, and the delivery was made on time.

My package was properly sealed. The ingredients for each recipe are well wrapped in kraft paper so as not to mix the dishes. To keep the products at the right temperature, cold gel packs are placed in the packaging.

There’s also a kraft paper envelope with the different selected recipe cards, which will be very useful to us for preparing the recipes. 

The package therefore consisted of 5 packets to make the following 5 recipes:

• Breaded chicken with sage and rosemary 
• Nasi goreng: shrimp and chicken fried rice 
• Mexican-style beef and cheddar tostadas 
• Farfalle with wild mushroom pesto  
• Shepherd’s pie reimagined with pulled pork

Convenience

The recipes are well explained thanks to the cards provided with the order. The steps are well detailed with clear explanations illustrated with photos. 

You can also find the list of utensils needed to make the recipe (pan, oven, peeler, number of bowls …) and the ingredients that are not provided with the recipe. These are generally salt, pepper, oils and eggs.

Personally, I really enjoyed cooking these recipes. The preparation time matches what is indicated, and the steps do not require anything complex. It’s very pleasant to have all the ingredients on hand. 

Taste

To get a general idea of the taste of the recipes, I chose 5 very different dishes and I must say I wasn’t disappointed. They were all really delicious, with very original flavors in some cases.

The meats are good, the seafood too, and the selected vegetables were fresh and tasty. I had a little soft spot for the sage-breaded chicken cutlet with its potato and broccoli salad.

The Nasi Goreng, listed as a spicy recipe, might have made me expect a dish that was too spicy. In reality the spiciness was very mild, the recipe was excellent.

Product quality and origin

HelloFresh products are purchased directly from various suppliers and are not certified organic.

All of the meats in the selected recipes come from France, which is a good point!

One caveat, however: the chicken and beef don’t have any specific label, so they come from intensive farming. I would have preferred the chicken to be free-range or at least Label Rouge.

The shrimp, meanwhile, come from Vietnam, with a responsible fishing label.

I was a little disappointed by the origin of the vegetables and fresh herbs. Some came from Spain, others from Italy, Poland, or even Morocco.

I would have preferred seasonal vegetables from France, as local origin is always a sign of freshness. However, they are all good-looking, not wilted; the quality is definitely there.

The grocery items are also generally French or European. They are packaged in kraft bags when possible, which helps limit plastic pollution. However, plastic is still used for sauces and liquid condiments.

Health 

Most recipes are balanced and provide a good amount of protein, fats, and carbohydrates. The principle of the balanced plate is almost always respected.

As a dietitian I can only like the concept because it allows you to try new recipes, test new flavors while varying your diet. It can even help you eat more vegetables.

When it comes to energy intake, HelloFresh recipes are exemplary. They provide between 600 and 900 kcal per serving, which corresponds to the general needs of the population. They deliver satisfying and nutritionally appealing meals. 

Price ★★★★★

The price per meal decreases depending on the number of recipes and people selected.

These range from €6.83 / meal per person for the smallest plan (3 meals for 2 people) to €3.63 / meal per person for the largest plan (5 meals for 6 people). 

I chose to compare HelloFresh’s price with various market-leading meal kit boxes. To do so, I compared the plan of 5 meals per week for 2 people. 

	Quitoque	HelloFresh	Les commis
Organic	Non	No	No
Number of servings	10	10	10
Number of recipes	5	5	5
Price per meal per person in €	6.59	5,90	7.40
Price per box in €	65.90	59	74
Delivery fee in €	2.90	5.99	2.90
Total	68.80 €	64.99 €	76.90 €

HelloFresh is one of the most economical boxes compared to its competitors, despite relatively high delivery fees.

HelloFresh subscriptions operate on a no-minimum-commitment basis and are relatively flexible. If you’re on vacation or unable to receive deliveries for a few weeks, you can suspend delivery of your box during your absence.

Just remember to cancel or pause orders 3 days before delivery.

On your first orders, HelloFresh offers attractive discounts : right now, for example, €85 of savings spread across your first 3 orders. 

HelloFresh boxes are delivered to homes, only within metropolitan France. The delivery cost is €5.99 via refrigerated carrier. 

A referral program is in place, each person referred receives €85 off their first 3 orders and the referrer will receive €30 off their next order.

Transparency ★★★★☆

The company HelloFresh counts 7.5 million active customers and its 2021 revenues amounted to €6 billion. It employs more than 20,000 employees worldwide. 

To reduce its impact on the climate, HelloFresh sources directly from producers which limits several stages of transport and helps reduce the carbon footprint. 

Since 2022, the brand has offered low-carbon recipes. These recipes produce up to 85% less CO2 compared to standard recipes. They are vegetarian and made with local ingredients.

That was the case with my vegetarian recipe Farfalle and pesto with wild mushrooms. Each week, 5 to 6 recipes with this commitment are offered. 

When choosing recipes, we do not always know the origin of every ingredient, which is a shame! Even if it is indicated on the product packaging, it would be interesting to know it before delivery because it can determine our choice of one dish over another.

Expertise ★★★★☆

HelloFresh wants to commit to the fight against food waste. This includes limiting impulsive food purchases while grocery shopping, for example, and offering portion sizes adapted to each recipe. 

You can also find on its site many tips and “zero-waste” recipes that help limit food waste.

The company seeks to better understand the eating habits of French people. To do this, the group collaborates with Google Surveys and conducts surveys on the different habits of consumers. 

Many topics are covered, including: 

• France and vegetarianism
• French people’s favorite pizzas
• Current food trends 

I found the resulting articles entertaining, accessible, and very interesting.

However, I wanted to learn more about how HelloFresh’s recipes are created. I would have liked to know whether they were created by chefs or nutritionists; unfortunately, I did not receive a response from the brand’s press office.

Popularity ★★★★☆

On social media, the company has over 2.4 million followers on Facebook. In addition, there is a Facebook group called HelloFresh Community bringing together more than 26.5K people. HelloFresh France also has over 106K followers on Instagram. It’s massive!

In my opinion, this shows a growing interest in the subscription box concept and a real community of brand enthusiasts.

On Facebook, HelloFresh has over 2,670 reviews with a rating of 2 out of 5. The comments mention delivery problems as well as issues with canceling the subscription. However, users almost always praise the quality of the products and the recipes.

On Trustpilot, HelloFresh has a rating of 3.9/5 with over 9,000 reviews. 

75% of the reviews are very positive and mention the convenience of delivery and the freshness of the products, with the remaining 25% highlighting subscription issues such as difficulties unsubscribing or delivery delays. 

Trust ★★★★☆

HelloFresh has customer service available by phone every day of the week.

The people on the phone are very responsive and friendly, and answer questions one might have about delivery, product quality, or how the subscription works.

After my trial, I unfortunately forgot to suspend my subscription.

So I was charged for an extra week and a new box was on its way. After I filed a complaint and explained my oversight, the brand did not hesitate to refund the charge and cancel my subscription. The refund was issued within the week. 

Finally, HelloFresh wants to help students move toward better eating habits. The company offers them 10% off each order.