Why nobody talks about comparing meal delivery services before subscribing

I spent $340 on HelloFresh for three weeks and felt like I was getting the same boring recipes over and over. Then a friend gave me a free trial box for Dinnerly and I noticed way more variety for almost half the cost. The difference was big when I actually looked at the menu options side by side instead of just picking the first ad I saw. Has anyone else found a big gap between what different services actually deliver versus their marketing?

2 comments

2 Comments

elliot_gibson271mo ago

My Blue Apron subscription got me a box of wilted basil and a missing protein pack three weeks ago, so I get where that frustration comes from. But I actually had the opposite experience with HelloFresh - I stuck with them for five months and I was swapping out most of my recipes each week without getting bored. The marketing for these services is all pretty glossy, but if you look close at the weekly menus Dinnerly really does lean hard on the same base ingredients like ground beef and pasta while HelloFresh gave me more seafood and veggie options that didn't feel like repeats. I think a lot of it depends on what you actually like to cook and if you bother to check the rotation before you sign up.

dakota4151mo ago

Wait, isn't that kind of the whole point though? If Dinnerly is running the same three meals on a loop then it doesn't matter how cheap it is, people are gonna ditch after a month. HelloFresh at least tried to keep it fresh, no pun intended. I had a similar thing with Sunbasket, they actually let me skip the stuff I didn't want instead of forcing me to swap things out manually. But yeah, if you're not checking the menu ahead of time you're kinda asking for disappointment.