HelloFresh (ETR:HFG) management used the company’s FY 2025 results call to emphasize progress from its efficiency “reset” in Meal Kits, while addressing operational setbacks that disrupted Ready-to-Eat (RTE) performance in the U.S. Co-founder and CEO Dominik Richter said the company remains committed to a strategy that prioritizes unit economics and product improvements ahead of re-accelerating growth.
Efficiency reset: implementation largely complete, with more savings expected
Richter said HelloFresh launched a EUR 300 million efficiency reset program in summer 2024, designed to improve unit economics and reduce fixed costs before investing in growth. By year-end 2025, management said roughly 80% of the initiatives were implemented, with an estimated P&L impact of about EUR 160 million in 2025 and another roughly EUR 140 million expected in 2026 as remaining actions take full effect and run-rate savings build.
Meal Kits: higher margins, improving revenue trajectory, and product reinvestment
Management pointed to Meal Kits as the clearest example of the reset’s financial impact. Richter said Meal Kit adjusted EBITDA margin reached 13.5% for FY 2025, the highest level since the pandemic and nearly four percentage points higher than 2024. Group contribution margin expanded to 26.8% for the year, up one percentage point year-over-year.
While Meal Kits declined in absolute size, Richter highlighted a shift toward “revenue quality.” Tenured customers (more than 50 lifetime orders) accounted for 51% of meal kit orders, up from 13% in 2022. Management said order volume from this cohort remained highly stable even as overall volume declined, attributing the drop primarily to fewer new customers joining due to tighter marketing ROI thresholds and an intentional decision to prioritize margin over volume.
In summer 2025, HelloFresh began a major product reinvestment cycle called “The ReFresh,” expanding protein variety, adding cuisines and unique SKUs, upgrading ingredient quality (including organic dairy and higher-welfare proteins), and increasing portion sizes in select markets. The rollout was described as stage-gated, starting in the Nordics and the U.K. and later expanding to additional markets, including the U.S., after KPI results were validated.
Richter cited early cohort data showing cumulative net revenue per conversion (described as a proxy for customer lifetime value) up 16% after 10 weeks and 21% after 20 weeks for H2 2025 cohorts versus H2 2024 cohorts. He also said HelloFresh has seen some of its highest NPS ratings in years, and that customers perceived stronger value for money despite simultaneous price increases.
On top-line performance, management said Meal Kits saw sequential improvement in constant-currency revenue declines throughout 2025, narrowing from -14.5% in Q1 to -10% in Q4. Richter said the company expects sequential quarterly year-over-year revenue improvement to continue throughout 2026. In Q&A, CFO Fabien Simon said that, at the current trajectory, returning to growth in the next 18 to 20 months “doesn’t seem unrealistic,” arguing against changing strategy because progress is not fast enough.
Ready-to-Eat: U.S. operational issues weighed on 2025, recovery underway
Richter described 2025 RTE performance as “more complicated,” particularly in the U.S. He said the first half of the year included regulatory-driven food manufacturing challenges that cascaded into product quality issues and harmed the customer experience while the company was spending on brand and performance marketing. Management said this led to worse unit economics, lower marketing ROI, and lower retention, creating a significant gap versus internal plans.
Later in 2025, HelloFresh pulled back growth investments to focus on restoring product quality and customer sentiment, accepting a short-term decline in the active customer base entering 2026. Richter said December exit rates showed improvement, with retention returning to pre-issue levels, the full menu catalog restored, and reheat times normalized. He also said facility productivity returned to longer-term averages.
Management cited several RTE U.S. indicators as improving, including NPS at Factor U.S. up 400 basis points year-over-year, cancellation rates down about 16%, and net revenue per customer tracking above prior-year levels at every measurement interval. For 2026, Richter said the primary goal for RTE is to restore bottom-line profitability back to levels seen in 2024, while “restarting the Factor growth engine” becomes the top operational priority as quality metrics and unit economics improve.
Outside the U.S., management said RTE in Canada, Europe, and Australia continued to post healthy double-digit growth and improving profitability in 2025, and the company expects sequential improvements by quarter for the overall RTE product group in 2026.
FY 2025 financial results and cash flow
Simon reported group revenue of EUR 6.8 billion for FY 2025, representing a 9% decline in constant currency. Orders declined about 12% for the year, which management said reflected improving Meal Kit trends but RTE orders that lagged expectations. Average order value rose 3.4% in constant currency, driven by a higher contribution from add-ons and upgrades and reduced price incentives for new customers.
HelloFresh delivered FY 2025 adjusted EBITDA of EUR 422.8 million, which Simon said was within guidance and represented a 14% increase year-over-year in constant currency. For RTE, the adjusted EBITDA margin was slightly negative for the full year (-1.2%), but returned to a positive 6.6% margin in Q4, which management said reflected operational fixes taking hold.
The company also reported free cash flow (post-lease definition) of EUR 18.9 million, its highest since 2021. Simon attributed the improvement to higher operating cash flow and lower CapEx, with CapEx reduced to EUR 130 million from EUR 166 million in 2024. He noted lease liabilities were elevated at EUR 123.9 million in 2025 due to one-off lease termination payments tied to footprint optimization, and are expected to normalize to below EUR 100 million in 2026.
2026 guidance, storm impact, and reporting changes
HelloFresh guided for 2026 net revenue growth of -6% to -3% in constant currency and adjusted EBITDA of EUR 375 million to EUR 425 million in constant currency. Management said guidance includes a one-off Q1 2026 weather event, estimating an impact of about EUR 20 million on revenue and about EUR 25 million on adjusted EBITDA. Richter described Winter Storm Fern in the U.S. as causing significant disruption, including delayed ingredient deliveries, stranded orders that had to be discarded, last-mile delivery failures, and higher credits and refunds.
In Q&A, Simon provided an early view of Q1 2026 trends, saying the company expected top line around -8% in constant currency and adjusted EBITDA of about EUR 20 million, noting Q1 is seasonally lower and was “very meaningfully impacted” by the winter storm.
Management also explained how incremental efficiency savings flow into results. Simon said the company expects about EUR 140 million of incremental savings to hit the P&L in 2026 versus 2025, with part reinvested into product. He added that Meal Kits are still expected to be in volume decline in 2026, creating operational deleverage and contributing to Meal Kit EBITDA temporarily coming slightly below 2025, despite a continued double-digit margin expectation.
HelloFresh announced reporting changes intended to improve transparency. Starting in Q2 2026, the company plans to report the full P&L by product category (Meal Kit vs. Ready-to-Eat) rather than by geographic segment, and will guide revenue growth and adjusted EBITDA on a constant-currency basis.
On capital allocation, Simon said the company completed its share buyback program under the AGM mandate, repurchasing 20.3 million shares at an average price of EUR 7.5 and canceling just under 14.2 million shares in 2025. Priorities for 2026 were described as organic growth investment, maintaining disciplined leverage (net debt to adjusted EBITDA around 1.5x), bolt-on or opportunistic acquisitions, and tactical buybacks subject to authorization and market conditions.
Additional operational updates included a decision to exit Spain and Italy. Simon said the EBITDA consumption from both markets was in the single-digit millions of euros and not significant to group results, with the exit driven by a conclusion that “structural economics” were not sustainable even with scale. Richter also discussed a partnership with Target in the U.S. for Ready-to-Eat distribution, citing an established retail presence in Australia under the Youfoodz brand and describing the Target effort as a successful pilot that could become a future growth vector alongside direct-to-consumer.
About HelloFresh (ETR:HFG)
HelloFresh SE, together with its subsidiaries, operates as meal kit provider for home industry. The company offers premium meals, protein swaps, double portions, and extra recipes, as well as add-ons, such as soups, snacks, fruit boxes, desserts, ready-to-eat meals, and seasonal boxes. It has operations in the United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Italy, and the United Kingdom. The company operates under the HelloFresh brand; and owns the Chefs Plate, Good Chop, The Pets Table, EveryPlate, Factor, Green Chef, and YouFoodz brand names.
