The world turns and with it society advances - the horse to the motorcar, a pen to a keyboard. And now the grocery store to the meal kit. But is this trend really more affordable or convenient? In short, is a meal kit actually worth it?
Meal kits are the latest advancement in the food world. A quick-n-easy way to make a delicious meal. And with the recent soar in food prices, our editors wanted to see if meal kits are cheaper than trips to the grocery store. We looked at a number of meal kits and discovered that HelloFresh is America’s #1 Meal Kit. So, it made sense to put HelloFresh to the test against our local grocery store.
We tried them both with an apples-to-apples comparison, here’s what we think:
HelloFresh Overview:
HelloFresh delivers fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and colorful step-by-step recipe cards right to your doorstep. They have six different meal plans - Meat & Veggie, Family Friendly, Veggie, Pescatarian, Fit & Wholesome, and Quick & Easy. You can choose 2 or 4-person recipes and between 2 - 6 meals weekly. The meals require minimal prep and only take about 30 minutes to cook.
Their meals change every week and allow you to explore a variety of dishes so you’re never bored. You can have the Black Bean & Pepper Quesadillas with Salsa Fresca & Creamy Guacamole on Monday, the Beef Enchiladas Verdes with Mexican Cheese & Hot Sauce Crema on Wednesday, then finish off the week with Garlic Butter Shrimp Scampi over Spaghetti with Roasted Broccoli. Yummy.
HelloFresh features high-quality produce that’s sourced from local farmers. And their meat comes in iced packs to ensure freshness. The portions are just right for me and my family, so we’ve seriously reduced our household’s food waste.
Starting at only $7.99 a serving, they’re the first sustainable meal kit that continually aims to reduce their carbon output. Their flexible subscription allows you to skip, pause, or opt out of your plan at any time.
Grocery Store Overview:
Grocery Stores are not the same as they used to be. Now we have self-check-outs and scan-as-you-shop. Although these innovations are supposed to save time - we’ve wasted considerable time queueing, or waiting for humans to come along and save us from the machines! Gone are the days of pleasant exchanges with your favorite cashier.
Sure, grocery stores have a wide range of ingredients, but you can wander the aisles for ages, overwhelmed by choices. Not to mention the outrageous rise in grocery store prices! From May 2021 to May 2022, food prices went up 9.6 percent — according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.*
Price Comparison:
Our editors compared HelloFresh to the grocery store price-wise. So we picked their 20-minute Balsamic Rosemary Pork Chops with Garlic Herb Toast & Roasted Green Beans recipe and set out to see how much the ingredients would cost at our local store. HelloFresh sends you the ingredients you need at $8.99 per serving, so our 2-person meal would only cost about $17.
At the grocery store, 0.69 lbs pork chops cost $6.23. Our produce - green beans, herb butter, rosemary, and demi-baguette — cost approximately $14.27. And our sauces — balsamic vinegar and concentrated chicken stock — rang up at around $9.80.
In total, we spent $30.30 at the grocery store for ingredients that would serve 2! And that’s not taking into account the sauces and bags of beans — most of which we didn’t use — what a waste.
Final Thoughts:
After trying both the grocery store and HelloFresh, we can’t deny that HelloFresh has the grocery store beat on convenience and price. We’re happy to announce that our monthly food budgets have plummeted!
With HelloFresh, you’ll never have to worry about what you’re cooking for the week or if you have the perfect spices.
If you need a cheaper, easier way to cook dinner, then HelloFresh is for you.
Try HelloFresh with 16 Free Meals across 7 Boxes + 3 Free Gifts & Free Shipping!
*Source: https://www.bls.gov/regions/new-york-new-jersey/news-release/consumerpriceindex_newyorkarea.htm