Between May 25th and 29th, HelloFresh will open the pop-up store TAKE AWAY TAKEAWAY on Hornsgatan in Stockholm. Simultaneously with the physical store, a temporary "ghost kitchen" will be launched in the Foodora app. There, customers will be given the opportunity to order dinner kits containing fresh ingredients and recipes for home delivery.
At the physical store in Södermalm, the company is also introducing an incentive to get consumers to change their habits. Customers who can show on-site that they have deleted a food delivery app from their phone will receive a free dinner kit for two people. This offer is limited to the first 30 visitors per day. It is not specified whether the Foodora app is included.
Data Shows Widespread Dissatisfaction
The initiative is based on a survey from YouGov, conducted on behalf of HelloFresh, which mapped Swedes' habits regarding food delivery. The data compilation shows that an average family with young children spends SEK 10,308 annually on food delivery. The same figure for the national average is SEK 6,260.
The survey also indicates recurring dissatisfaction among consumers. One in five who have ordered food delivery have regretted it several times afterwards. Among families with younger children, as many as 65 percent also state that they have regretted an order at some point.
"We Are in a Food Delivery Epidemic"
HelloFresh believes that the frequent use of food delivery negatively affects consumers both financially and in terms of time. Carina Berg, Communications Manager at HelloFresh in Sweden, comments on the investment:
This is the first time we are opening a physical location where customers can get food on the spot, and we are doing it for an important reason. We are in a food delivery epidemic. Studies from the Public Health Agency of Sweden show that Swedish eating habits continue to develop in the wrong direction and deteriorate. We know that food delivery apps are often the first thing you open when hunger strikes and energy is at its lowest. Therefore, in the campaign, we have gone just there, to offer a rescue in the form of a real meal and help people end their destructive relationship with food delivery.
She adds:
Food delivery has become like a destructive relationship. We try to solve the everyday puzzle through the apps, but time and time again we are disappointed and feel cheated of both time and money. It's time to leave food delivery and rediscover dinners that matter. Through this initiative, we hope to give Swedes a nudge in another direction. Because nothing beats home cooking.