At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, meal kit services became all the rage for those stuck at home.
“According to GlobalData, HelloFresh saw a 122.6% Y-o-Y revenue growth in Q2 of 2020, a trend that the company was positive would continue over the remainder of the year. Similarly, Gousto saw sales rise by 129% over the year and achieved ‘unicorn’ status, following losses in the previous year,” explains Verdict Food Service.
Now, however, the hype appears to be dying. Late last year, Blue Apron laid off 10% of its corporate office. The company has since received a warning from the New York Stock Exchange that its stock may be delisted after falling below $1.
In the case of HelloFresh, the company’s shares have already dropped by more than 50% in the past 12 months.
Now, a user on TikTok has sparked discussion after calling out a perceived declining standard of quality and quantity from HelloFresh.
@alexz.a4 @hellofresh you’ve got some explaining to do…. #hellofresh #mealdeliveryservice #ripoff #majorfail #customerservice #walmartsalads #notworthit ♬ original sound – Alex “the tall blonde”
In a video with over 23,000 views, TikTok user Alex (@alexz.a4) shows a recent delivery she received from HelloFresh. She claims she was charged $175 for 4 servings of 3 meals, which averages to just under $15 per serving.
“Normally, I’m cool with that,” Alex explains. “Except, I just pulled these bags of salad out of this box.”
Alex then brandishes two bags of chopped salad from Taylor Farms. One is a Sweet Kale Chopped Kit; the other is a Caesar chopped kit.
“These are from Walmart,” Alex says. “They’re valued at $2 each. So how are you charging me $175 for this box?”
For context, Taylor Farms does not solely supply to Walmart, as their vegetables can be found in stores and restaurants across the country. Therefore, it’s unclear if the products were actually sourced from Walmart.
Alex is also slightly undervaluing the cost of each of these bags. For a consumer, a Taylor Farms Sweet Kale Chopped Kit will run around $5. The Caesar salad is about the same price.
Still, even with the additions provided by HelloFresh, there appears to be a sizable disparity between the cost of these ingredients and the box’s total cost of under $15 per meal.
In another video, Alex claims that HelloFresh sent portions that were too small to be considered adequate for 4 people.
@alexz.a4 @hellofresh part 2 #hellofresh #mealdeliveryservice #ripoff #majorfail ♬ original sound – Alex “the tall blonde”
In the comment section, users voiced their own gripes with the service.
“We are on a Hello Fresh break,” wrote one user. “They jacked up the prices and apparently every meal is now premium.”
“I have had so many issues. Them forgetting our meat, our meat having holes in them.. we’re done lol,” detailed another.
“Our HF package came with the chicken open, juice covering everything in the box,” claimed a third. “They refunded us for the chicken only. We didn’t renew after that.”
The Daily Dot reached out to HelloFresh and Alex via email.
