HelloFresh Stays Ahead of Market Softness
Even as the global market remained tenuous in the second quarter, meal kit provider HelloFresh reached a milestone earnings mark. The German company posted its highest-ever global adjusted EBITDA of $211.3 million USD ($191.9 million euros).
Global revenue was also up on a year-over-year (YoY) basis, hitting $2.11 billion USD. North American revenue came in at $1.39 billion for the quarter, down 1.4% from last year. Overall, HelloFresh cited greater operational efficiencies, higher order values and reduced marketing spend for the global quarterly performance amid a still-volatile world economy.
[Read more: "Why HelloFresh Is Going to the Dogs"]
Other results pointed to a pullback among some users at a time of elevated inflation and budget tightening. A decline in active customers during Q2 was offset by strong average order rates and increased average order values, the company reported. In North America, the number of active customers in the United States fell 9.6% from last year to 4.12 million.
“While being faced with an overall soft consumer environment in the second quarter of 2023, we remain laser focused on providing our customers with a superior product. We have made continuous progress with regards to the level of convenience, choice and flexibility and I am proud of our teams for going the extra mile,” said co-founder and CEO Dominik Richter. Looking ahead, Richter shared that the profitable growth remains the top priority headed into 2024, as the company narrowed its outlook for revenue growth for the rest of fiscal 2023 from 2%-10% to a 2%-8% range. “We are excited to de-bottleneck the capacity constraints in our ready-to-eat business, which we believe will drive further significant growth to our business. Given our diversified portfolio of brands in the world’s most desirable food markets, our unique physical and technological infrastructure and our globally leading direct-to-consumer capabilities, we are well positioned to become the world’s leading integrated food solutions group,” he added.
One way that HelloFresh aims to propel growth through end of this fiscal year and into the next is by expanding production capacity for its ready-to-eat brand Factor, which includes freshly-made, dietitian-approved meals with Keto, Paleo, low-carb, vegetarian, high-protein and plant-based options. The company is also planning to introduce other product enhancements across its portfolio.
