All alarms are going off at HelloFresh: the number of active customers, of orders and of delivered meals are all in free fall at the meal box supplier, who also issued a profit warning.
Customers are leaving
HelloFresh has seen customers drop out and the number of orders fall for several consecutive quarters, but until now, it was able to compensate for that loss with price increases. In the results for the 2023 financial year, that last straw is gone as well: they show a slight decline in sales, from 7.6 to 7.5 billion euros. Adjusted EBITDA (profit before tax, depreciation and amortisation) fell 6.3 % to 447.6 million euros, while the number of active customers fell from 7.1 to 6.6 million. Worth noting: the company will henceforth not publish quarterly updates on the number of active customers.
The meal box company is facing higher costs, has to spend more on marketing to counter customer outflow, and is also investing heavily in its fresh prepared meals division, Factor. That brand is now also being launched in the Nordic countries. All these factors will also weigh on profits this year: they are expected to be between 350 and 400 million euros. On the bright side, the company expects sales to rise again, by 2 to 8 %
