HelloFresh to Open Largest-Ever Facility
Meal kit company HelloFresh has revealed plans to open a new distribution center in Phoenix. The nearly 440,000-square-foot facility will become the company’s largest-ever shipping and fulfillment center, supporting rising demand for its meal kits and enabling HelloFresh to better serve new and existing West Coast customers.
Joining the company’s other West Coast facility, in Richmond, California, the newly built Phoenix distribution center will begin operations in the fourth quarter of this year and could provide up to 1,200 new jobs over time, according to HelloFresh, which added that the city has access to major routes and lots of qualified potential employees.
“We are thrilled to be expanding our operational footprint on the West Coast,” noted HelloFresh U.S. CEO Uwe Voss. “Joining our Richmond facility, this new Phoenix distribution center will help strengthen our presence in the region and further support our mission of excellent service and delivery of delicious meals. We also look forward to tapping into the region’s talented labor pool and making a positive impact on the local community.”
“Phoenix welcomes another major foreign direct investment in the city, joining the billions of dollars of foreign investment from companies like TSMC and Apel,” said Christine Mackay, director, Phoenix Community and Economic Development. “Phoenix is a growing market for food system entrepreneurs and innovators [in] the agrifood sector, and HelloFresh brings innovative technology and job opportunities to the city. HelloFresh’s location puts it within an easy commute of the thousands of people who live in southwest and west Phoenix. With 1,200 job commitments for our experienced workforce, HelloFresh is making a big investment in its meal kit delivery service [and] is on the leading edge of agrifood companies coming to Phoenix.”
“Prologis is proud to continue expanding its relationship with HelloFresh by helping it reach more customers quickly,” said Jeff Foster, VP and market officer of San Francisco-based real estate investment trust Prologis, owner of the building in which the facility will be housed. “The Phoenix market in particular is experiencing rising demand for modern logistics facilities that serve as the backbone of resilient supply chains. At a time when consumer behavior is shifting toward online shopping and e-commerce adoption is growing rapidly, strategically located industrial space is emerging as a strong competitive advantage.”
Along with the new facility in Phoenix, HelloFresh recently began operations at its new 375,000-square-foot distribution center in Irving, Texas, at the DFW Airport. All of these new facilities bolster the company’s long-term growth plans to continue expanding its total addressable market. Expanding supply chain capacity enables HelloFresh to bring new more recipe selections and new convenient meal options to market.
This latest expansion comes in the immediate wake of a fourth quarter of soaring sales and profit, the culmination of a strong year of demand from the pandemic-led increase in consumers cooking at home. HelloFresh’s revenue more than doubled for fiscal 2020 in the United States (up 102.3% year-over-year) and globally (up 107.3% year over year) as the company saw revenue rise to $1.3 billion, delivering more than 600 million meals to customers in 14 markets.
Based in Berlin, Germany, HelloFresh is the largest meal kit provider in the United States and worldwide. In 2020, the company delivered more than 278 million meals across the United States. HelloFresh is No. 88 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer's 2020 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.
