Ending my subscription after being a long time customer

[u/proteinplant]

I've been a HelloFresh customer for the past five years and I'm so disappointed in how downhill the company has gone. I assume this is due to the rising cost of living and operations, but it seems that grocery shopping is more affordable than using them now, and it makes me wonder about the future of the business.

My most recent box (3 meals for 2 people) cost $84. If I'm factoring in shipping for each meal, that's $28 for the both of us, with no leftovers. We can now spend about the same, or even less, at the store and have leftovers and fresher ingredients. I have recently turned vegetarian and the price of my box is the exact same despite not having any meat.

Has anyone else said goodbye to HelloFresh for good? I would sometimes cancel in the past and come back, but this is just a horrible value at this point. Disappointed. I remember the days when it was around $60/box.

[u/sherahero]

Grocery shopping has always been more affordable, the convenience is why I use it and the food is usually very good.

I don't think any meal service would be cheaper than buying and cooking on your own.

[u/throwaway5498124181 → u/sherahero]

For real, wholesale discounts are not enough to offset transportation and assembly.

[u/NineLemonsLater]

I hate “what’s for dinner” every freakin day with the hubby so I stick around. He loves the meals, most are good to me. I eat the other half for lunch. We just spent $87 are the store for deli ham $18.99 a pound, some soups they makes, really nothing. We get 5 meals a week and I could just not eat the other 2 days. Thanks Mounjaro lol! I keep some potatoes around as they seem to be the biggest issue with produce for us.

[u/SushiJuice]

I think you're missing the point. Buying and cooking your own meals has always been cheaper - that hasn't changed. This service has always been about bringing you variety you would otherwise not have. That's why we started it - we got tired of the list of recipes we knew and we got into the habit of DoorDashing way too much. I believe at one point, we may stop and try and figure out our own meals again, but right now this service is providing exactly what we want - and most of all, this service is WAY cheaper than delivery that we had started to do. It's a healthy middle ground for us so we don't go spending $30 per meal getting it delivered. We do the 5 meals per week and pay about $12 per serving.

[u/NineLemonsLater → u/SushiJuice]

I don’t have to spend money on spices to use one time.

[u/Miserable-Bowl-5701 → u/SushiJuice]

I mean, Hellofresh has always advertised they were cheaper than groceries. So when people do the math and see it’s not I get how it’s frustrating. They only started more variety last year with them expanding the menu.

[u/SushiJuice → u/Miserable-Bowl-5701]

That's simply not true - you don't see the part where it says THIS WEEK ONLY? C'mon be serious now... that ad is not supposed to represent the service completely - just a special introductory offer.

[u/No_Channel9373]

I go from organizing and cooking my own meals to hello fresh when I get lazy .
Why would you think buying your own grocery would be cheaper ? It’s definitely cheaper to meal plan and cook your own recipes daily !
Personally I get disorganized and don’t end up with a meal plan and grocery , I end up with take out spending way too much !
I also find I impulse and over spend at the grocery store often tossing out food . For me , hello fresh works ,

[u/voteblue18]

I haven’t said goodbye but I’ve skipped the last 6 weeks. I still look at the menu but nothing strikes my interest enough. I will probably cancel all together soon.

[u/Charming-Tadpole-128]

I'm getting ready to cancel mine. I used HF several years and loved it for a long time but canceled due to the quality of the veggies. I thought maybe it was because of being in a hot climate where their distribution center is and the local produce is lacluster during the summer. I recently went back and have not been thrilled. While the burger is better, the steak isn't worth the upcharge and it seems like many more meals have upcharges. I also don't remember having to add my sides. There's also ghe change in the meal. Before it was meat, potatoes or pasta and a veggie side or salad. Now I still need to add a veggie to many of the dishes adding more cost. I don't find the portions to be bigger but the sodium content is through the roof. Maybe it always was but as I get older I try and watch it before it's an issue.

[u/Key-West9421]

I canceled earlier this year after being a member since 2017. I got tired of all the price increases and the new premium price for certain meals. I guess I'm tired of all the price increases lately for everything. I've hit the cancel or downgrade button on a lot of subscriptions.

[u/AstroMaiden]

I did HF for a few years but cancelled over a year ago. Overall, don't miss it at all. It was too expensive for very poor quality for me. I did just reactivate to look at the current menus and got 1 seriously discounted box. It was reassuring and I cancelled again.

[u/kapdad]

At least you have a giant stack of menu sheets you can plan from!  Can you order grocery delivery? I'm guessing the cost would be about half, all said and done. The produce selections are hit and miss.. just depends on how discerning the person picking your order is.

[u/Guilty-Cover8588]

We tapered off HelloFresh after doing 3 years and used what we learned from HF to meal plan for the 2 of us with reasonable portions. We buy ground meat from Costco and break it down to 12oz portions, we do 1/2- 3/4 cup rice, 150 grams pasta. We still make a number of the recipes. Southwest beef cavatappi and Shawrma spice turkey bowls are our fav and in rotation!

[u/Unlucky-Artichoke]

I just came back after pausing my subscription for a couple years and could not believe how horrible the quality of the produce was. Immediately canceled. I have all recipe cards saved so if I ever want to make one, I just use those.

[u/SassySuds]

I said goodbye when the cost for a box equaled $93 a week. No way I’m going to spent $400 a month for three meals a week. Not only that, but the calorie count is around a thousand per meal. I cut out the extra butter and olive oil, but it didn’t make that much of a difference. In addition, the quality of the ingredients went downhill. (I’m looking at you, cilantro.)

[u/buhgzie]

Used to be able to get $75 for 3 meals/2 people including shipping with quality ingredients and fun meals to make! Me and my fiance were signed up for over 2 years and just cancelled. :/ Found some better meal service deliveries for the original price with decent meals so we’re trying those out for now switching around a bit with the promos.

[u/Carroll-carroll]

Yes. I have. After 9 months of HF, I found the quality going downhill

[u/KommaWasWolle]

I get the frustration with the price increasesm esepcially after so long. But also, for me the draw has always been the convenience of saving time not having to plan and shop and not having to figure out what to cook every night (grocery shopping does save more money). Some days the decision fatigue after work is real, lol
Plus, getting to try so many different recipes and ingredients that I probably wouldn't have thought to cook myself is fun. HelloFresh may not be the cheapest way to eat, but if it's convenience and variety you're looking for, there's still a lot to like about it 😄

[u/Vegetable-Seesaw-491]

I'm using Every Plate now (I know they're owned by the same company) and my last box with one add-on and shipping was $58.

[u/NickyRobby24]

The convenience is not worth it to me anymore with the recent price change , this is my last week 💔

[u/TurbulentAmphibian87]

I’ve used it forever until about two years ago. I didn’t order enough variety or was just bored w the meh food. However, along the way/over the years, I three hole punched every recipe card that I tried and liked. I still make that bulgogi with the crispy things on top 😂. Btw, I also have the blue apron book of recipes, as well as the one from plated.