HelloFresh has acquired Green Chef, a fellow meal kit company geared toward vegan, gluten-free and Paleo diet consumers, for an undisclosed sum.
Under the terms of the acquisition, Green Chef will add organic menus to the HelloFresh product portfolio and leverage its scale and resources to continue to drive more growth to HelloFresh households. HelloFresh will gain its first office and production facility in Colorado and will integrate Green Chef into its operations and culinary teams, according to a company statement.
In November 2017, Germany-based HelloFresh went public on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange as it sought to expand its presence in the U.S. HelloFresh had an impressive Q4 to close out 2017, posting improved margins, 60% revenue growth and a 69% increase in active customers. In the U.S. alone, active customers rose 106% to 890,000, and the number of orders jumped 119% to three million. Revenue for the year topped $1 billion, a 52% increase from 2016, well outpacing top competitor Blue Apron, which saw sales grow only 11% percent to $881 million.
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While neither company is currently profitable, the net loss for HelloFresh is smaller and shrinking while Blue Apron’s is growing.
HelloFresh also has a positive outlook for 2018. The company expects to break even in its core business in Q4 2018 and grow its revenues during its fiscal year by 25% to 30%. The company said it will focus its growth strategy on increasing its customer base and expanding its product portfolio in its core markets.