Why I Cancelled Hello Fresh

It was the freezer packs that pushed me over the edge.

These "recycle me" instructions are absurd. The contents of this thawed freezer pack are a gel that supposedly dries out when you dump it in the trash.

No, it doesn't. I tried.

I feel embarrassed admitting that I once subscribed to Hello Fresh. I suspected their claims of food waste reduction were exaggerated, but I decided to try it because of the convenience of home delivery of pre-packaged meal ingredients.

The company delivers on the convenience front. A subscription takes the hassle out of planning and shopping for however many weekly dinners you request. The service removed decision fatigue from my life in a way I appreciated.

The meals are easy to prepare, taste good, and feature wholesome ingredients. I chose a pescatarian menu, and the fish was surprisingly fresh tasting. I wish they sourced only organic produce, but that wasn’t what got me to cancel the service.

It was the packaging and shipping that got to me. The company offsets its emissions from shipping. That’s nice in theory but not so great in practice. I have written about carbon offsets here and for the website 3D InCites.

Most of Hello Fresh’s packaging is reasonable. I appreciate it when several items come in a single plastic bag instead of using one bag for each item. They often choose recycled and recyclable paper instead of plastic. Because they source directly from farms, they avoid some of the packaging involved in lengthy supply chains that include warehouses and retail stores.

But I wish there were a way to customize an order to say, for example, don’t include plastic packets with a tablespoon or two of mayonnaise or sour cream. I have those ingredients at home and can measure out the correct amount.

The biggest problem is the freezer packs. I understand the company needs a way to keep fresh fish cold. They can’t control how long a box sits on a customer’s front porch. Some type of freezer pack is necessary. But many options exist, most of which are better than the one in the photo at the top of this post.

Imperfect Foods offers “drain-safe” freezer packs. Customers can cut open the package, dump the contents down the drain, and then recycle the plastic film if they can access a drop-off location. More importantly, Imperfect takes back the insulated bags and freezer packs. Customers can leave those out on their next delivery day.

The freezer packs from Hello Fresh and Imperfect are reusable. You can freeze and thaw them multiple times before they develop holes and need to be discarded. Without a takeback program, however, these packs accumulate. I don’t have enough freezer space to store them. Neither do I want boxes of thawed bags taking up space in my garage or a closet. Plus, when they leak, it makes a mess.

I’d prefer if more fresh food delivery services used freezer packs in hard plastic shells. Those are much longer lasting. They cost more than the plastic film type. But what about a deposit scheme? Charge customers a small fee for the durable freezer packs and refund the deposit when customers set them out for pickup. Customers may choose to keep a few, but they will reach a point where they have enough and will gladly have the delivery service collect them.

Do you subscribe to any fresh food delivery services? Have you canceled any because of the packaging or other issues? How else can these companies improve their packaging? I invite you to comment and share your thoughts.