Local players struggle as recipe box giants scale

While the market for recipe box or meal kits in Australia is growing the owner of local business Pepper Leaf says business is "a real struggle".

Founder Simon Kahil says the competition from international giants Hello Fresh and Marley Spoon is intense for his business, which turns over about $1 million a year selling the boxes that include portioned ingredients and recipes.

"We are paddock to plate, which is something that's easy to say but hard to execute," he says. "We do have direct relationships with farmers so when we say fresh, the broccoli we deliver on Friday was cut from the field on Wednesday."

Pepper Leaf's prices are about $10.50 per meal but Kahil says he is being forced to consider whether Pepper Leaf is viable given the tough competition.

"The market is dominated by Hello Fresh and Marley Spoon, their volumes are really good," he says. "The competitive landscape is so tough, it is not good enough to have a really great product, it is the marketing power behind it that really kicks a business on." Read more
Cara Waters - Brisbane Times - 25 Nov 2018