When HelloFresh was founded 14 years ago, our founders Dominik Richter and Thomas Griesel sourced all ingredients from a nearby supermarket and assembled our meal kits in the kitchen of the co-working space they had rented. Today, operating eight brands across 18 countries, HelloFresh runs a complex, international supplier network which enables serving yearly around a billion meals to customers worldwide. 

Since 2011 we’ve come a long way: The size and complexity of our product offerings have grown significantly. HelloFresh started with one simple recipe per week in Germany. Today, we offer customers to choose from around 50 recipes – with several options to swap ingredients – and up to 130 add-ons in our HelloFresh market. By the end of 2026, we will double the amount of recipes for HelloFresh in the majority of the countries HelloFresh is operating in. This means we will offer at least 100 recipes, and significantly increase the product portfolio of our other brands, including our ready to eat brand Factor. 

HelloFresh’s growth in size and offering has added to the complexity of our supply chain. Additionally, we’re seeing a more challenging environment to build a robust and reliable supply chain: With geopolitical tensions and climate-related disruptions on the rise, planning ahead with fresh ingredients has become increasingly complex. Yet our customers continue to receive their meals on time, week after week. This article offers a behind-the-scenes look at how we make that possible.

How do we choose our suppliers? 

HelloFresh works with over  2000 suppliers worldwide. Each one of them was carefully selected by our Procurement Team. When selecting suppliers, we take a range of factors into account to ensure we can deliver fresh, high-quality ingredients to our customers reliably and efficiently.

Volume is an important consideration. The quantities needed to meet demand—such as the 7,000 tons of potatoes sourced annually for Germany—often require collaboration with suppliers who can consistently provide large-scale volumes.

Variety also plays a key role. Our menus are designed to reflect diverse tastes and evolving food trends, including international cuisines. To make this possible year-round, we often work with suppliers from different regions, especially when certain products—like fresh herbs in winter—are not seasonally available locally.

Delivery timing is another crucial aspect. To meet preferred delivery days, we rely on partners who can accommodate specific logistics requirements, including weekend and public holiday deliveries.

Reliability is essential for maintaining consistent service. Working with a broad network of suppliers across various regions and climate zones allows us to minimize potential disruptions, such as weather-related harvest issues or supply chain interruptions, and helps ensure dependable deliveries.

Complexity is inherent in our model, as ingredients are portioned precisely to match each recipe. This requires suppliers to meet exact specifications—for example, delivering products in defined packaging sizes—which calls for a high degree of operational precision.

Quality is at the heart of our offering. We partner with suppliers who meet defined standards and certifications to ensure a consistent level of quality across all our markets.

Price is another factor we consider. By monitoring market developments and working closely with our supplier network, we aim to offer our customers fair and affordable pricing without compromising on quality.

Taken together, these factors guide how we build a reliable and flexible supply chain—one that supports a varied menu, consistent quality, and a dependable experience for our customers.

Global efficiency meets local customer needs

Our customers are at the heart of everything we do. This means that while we prioritize global efficiency and consistent quality, we also pay close attention to the individual preferences and expectations in each market we serve. In every country where we operate, a local culinary team develops recipes tailored to the tastes and culinary traditions of that region. Alongside flavor, factors such as the origin and quality of ingredients are important considerations. In some markets, customers place a strong emphasis on sourcing meat locally or organically. For example, in Germany we expanded the split of organic meat options on the menu by 150 percent this year.

While our supply chain is designed to ensure efficiency and reliability on a global scale, meeting local needs and preferences remains a key part of our approach. Our teams continuously gather insights by conducting surveys, analyzing customer care feedback, and monitoring external trend data to stay ahead of evolving tastes and changing demands, ensuring that we consistently align our offerings with what matters most to our customers.