Meal Kit Markups Exposed: Home Delivery Services Charge Up to 240% More Than Supermarkets
Popular home delivery meal kit companies are capitalising on time-poor home cooks by imposing markups of nearly 240 per cent compared to the cost of ingredients in supermarkets. Recipe subscription services, including Gousto, Hello Fresh, and Mindful Chef, deliver pre-portioned food boxes directly to consumers' doors, eliminating the need for supermarket trips. However, an investigation by the Daily Mail has revealed that these firms are charging significantly higher prices for ingredients that can be sourced much more cheaply from retailers.
Staggering Price Differences Revealed
When the Daily Mail compared the cost of making meals from these kits with purchasing ingredients individually, it found that firms were charging up to £9.78 per portion for ingredients that actually cost as little as £2.90. This represents an increase of a staggering 237 per cent. For instance, a standard box from Mindful Chef, containing three recipes for six meals split between two people, costs £50.64, while the same ingredients bought separately can be acquired for just £15.24.
Similarly, a Gousto alternative is priced at £32.25, whereas the supermarket cost is only £11.24. Hello Fresh charges £32.99 for a comparable box before any delivery fees, marking a 164 per cent increase on the £12.51 it would cost to buy the goods directly. As part of the experiment, the Daily Mail priced up ingredients for a selection of recipes from each meal kit box, uncovering substantial disparities.
Specific Meal Comparisons Highlight Markups
Mindful Chef’s smoked haddock kedgeree with green beans and soft-boiled egg came in at £9.78 per portion via the subscription, but the exact ingredients from Aldi cost just £2.90 per meal. Their Spanish-style pork steaks with red pepper butter beans and parsley drizzle were priced at £8.78 each from the home delivery firm, compared to £2.08 from the supermarket.
Gousto recipes included sweet and sour chicken with rice, costing £5.37 per portion from the box, while ingredients could be purchased for as little as £2.10 a meal. Their creamy spaghetti carbonara had an even larger markup, with ingredients costing as little as £1.56, versus the box price of £5.37. Hello Fresh’s teriyaki pork stir fry was priced at £5.49 per meal, but the Daily Mail sourced ingredients from Aldi or Tesco for just £1.56.
Convenience Comes at a High Cost
All meal subscription services market themselves as offering value through convenience, reducing food waste, and saving time on planning and shopping. They often use generous introductory discounts to attract customers, but experts warn that the long-term costs can escalate once these deals expire. Consumers who rely on meal kits are also less likely to bulk buy cupboard staples like rice, pasta, and tinned goods, which can be cheaper over time.
Consumer expert Martyn James commented, ‘There's a heavy price for convenience. Most people don't really know how much they are paying in hidden fees for subscription food services. If you're too busy to regularly visit the supermarket but want to eat well or more healthily, then these services may seem like the ideal choice. But as this research shows, when you price up the contents of the box, you're often paying way over the odds for goods that could be much cheaper.’
Company Responses and Defences
A spokesman for Gousto disputed claims that their meal kits were more expensive, arguing that supermarkets do not sell ingredients in recipe-sized portions, forcing shoppers to buy larger quantities that drive up costs and food waste. ‘When you add up the true cost of buying all 33 ingredients needed for these three recipes, the supermarket shop comes out around 20 per cent more expensive, with much of the excess likely to go unused,’ he said. ‘Precise portioning also helps reduce food waste and associated carbon emissions, delivering benefits for households and the planet.’
A spokesman for Mindful Chef stated that their boxes use responsibly sourced British meat and typically deliver 51 per cent less food waste than supermarket equivalents. ‘Comparing the cost of supermarket ingredients alone isn’t a like-for-like assessment and doesn’t capture the full value that a Mindful Chef recipe box provides,’ he explained. ‘Our pricing reflects responsibly sourced British meat and fish, high animal-welfare standards, and fair pay for the farmers and independent suppliers we work with.’ Hello Fresh was contacted for comment but did not respond.
