HelloFresh Sets its 2021 Growth Plans
HelloFresh expects revenue growth of 20% to 25% in 2021, another sign of how the pandemic is helping to fuel the meal-kit industry.
The meal-kit provider said that it expects to double its manufacturing capacity next year, and keep its focus on sustainability. Other areas of growth will include increasing the core business, geographic expansion and capturing a higher share of customers’ food budget.
HelloFresh also said it plans to bring the U.S.-only brands Green Chef, Every Plate and Factor into new markets in the International Segment. The company noted it aims to provide more value to consumers by broadening its assortment to other product categories and previously non-penetrated meal occasions such as Lunch and Breakfast
“As we have scaled the business, our customer value proposition has also become a lot better. Today, we’re able to delight a lot more diverse customer groups than a few years ago. Our investments into a larger menu, better service levels and better affordability have really paid off. Going forward, we want to expand on that vision and become the leading meal solutions group globally,” said Dominik Richter, co-founder and CEO of HelloFresh.
In early November, HelloFresh posted a 120% year-over-year revenue gain in the third quarter, reaching $1.13 billion. HelloFresh also reached 5 million active customers globally, and reported that the number of orders increased 114% to 19.49 million during third quarter. In the United States, the number of orders increased 130.7% year over year, reaching 9.52 million. HelloFresh has 2.51 million active customers in the United States, a 122% increase.
While HelloFresh’s business model is inherently more sustainable than traditional grocery retailers, the retailer said the company identified three core focus areas and corresponding metrics in order to measure their performance. These include reducing food waste, carbon emissions and energy as well as packaging. HelloFresh set itself a number of sustainability commitments for the future from achieving ISO-50001 certification for energy efficiency management and a strong focus on solar panel installation and green energy.
In order to facilitate the company’s ambitious growth plans, HelloFresh has launched a multitude of fulfilment center expansion projects in both operating segments. This will enable the company to double its capacity over the course of the next 15-18 months. Furthermore, HelloFresh plans to continue to invest in its automation capabilities, which will enable an even greater product assortment to cater to a larger number of customer segments.
HelloFresh SE is the world’s leading meal-kit company and operates in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Australia, Austria, Switzerland, Canada, New Zealand, Sweden, France and Denmark. In third quarter 2020, HelloFresh delivered over 162 million meals and reached 5 million active customers. HelloFresh was founded in Berlin in Nov. 2011 and went public on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Nov. 2017. It has offices in New York, Berlin, London, Amsterdam, Sydney, Toronto, Auckland, Paris and Copenhagen.
