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When Kristin Bryan, executive chef and head of culinary innovation at HelloFresh, set out to design the brand’s biggest menu relaunch to date, she had few key priorities. Top-of-mind objectives included lengthening the meal delivery service’s list of weekly meal options, enhancing the nutrient density of each dish, offering a greater range of meat, seafood, and produce options, and providing high-quality recipes that require less prep work and cleanup time than ever before. Six months later, the HelloFresh ReFresh, which launched earlier this month, was born—and we’ll just say it: Bryan has delivered (pun intended).
The revamped menu offers more recipes to choose from (now over 100 each week) and a greater variety of proteins and fresh produce. “[There’s] triple the amount of seafood, new proteins we’ve never offered before, such as lamb chops and half chickens, and a stronger focus on seasonal produce,” Bryan says. She’s added artichokes, seasonal squash varieties, shishito peppers, peaches, and more to the lineup.
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The menu overhaul was a labor of love for Bryan, who was inspired by early memories of spending time in her grandmother’s kitchen. “It was this warm and inviting place where we shared these small moments that had a huge impact on me as a child. I still think about how it made me feel to help her make cookies or fry a piece of chicken,” Bryan says. “Even as small as I was, I felt seen, heard, and loved around that table. That’s where I realized the impact of cooking at home together with the ones you love, and that sharing a delicious meal means making a lasting memory.”
According to HelloFresh’s first State of Home Cooking report, a survey of 5,000 US adults done in collaboration with market research firm Wakefield Research, the majority of Americans similarly see dinnertime as family time: 70% reported having sit-down dinners at home with others nearly every day of the week, and 83% of those surveyed said they believe that eating with others is better for mental health.
“Our [research] team found that more than nine in 10 Americans plan to cook at home just as much or even more in the coming year compared to last year,” Bryan says. “And the reason goes beyond necessity—people see home cooking as a wellness ritual, a creative outlet, and a way to connect with the people they love.”
Now, how to put together a stable of recipes and service that makes mealtime joyful for home cooks in a food rut (64% of the survey’s respondents said they have days when they want to “quit dinner”) and easy for people who dread the grocery store? It’s a tall order—but Bryan and the HelloFresh team were up to the challenge.
