Best-Rated Meal Kits

Compare meal kit delivery services in New Zealand at Canstar Blue. Bargain Box, My Food Bag and Hello Fresh were compared on Overall Satisfaction, Customer Service, Delivery Reliability/Timing, Flexibility of Contract, Freshness of Food, Taste of the Food, Value for Money, Variety of Meals.

See our Ratings Methodology

Most Satisfied Customers | Bargain Box

Bargain Box has bagged a hat-trick, rated No.1 by Kiwi home cooks for the third year in a row.

 

How we rate meal kits

Our review compares meal kits on customer satisfaction, so you can discover what other Kiwis think about our compared meal kit brands before you make an order. Think of it like asking hundreds of your closest mates which meal kit brand they think is best!


Canstar Blue surveyed 1373 Kiwis who had used a meal kit delivery service in the past 12 months for their feedback on their experiences.

  • The outcomes reported in these ratings are measured via accredited research panels managed by Qualtrics.

Respondents rate their satisfaction with their choice of meal kit brand from zero to ten, where zero is extremely dissatisfied and ten is extremely satisfied. Brand satisfaction is rated by respondents on the following criteria:

  • Overall Satisfaction: measures consumer satisfaction with a meal kit brand as an individual score NOT a combined total of all criteria.
  • Customer Service: the meal kit brand’s service staff are readily available, easy to contact, and resolve issues effectively.
  • Delivery Reliability/Timing: the meal kit delivery service offers multiple delivery times and keeps customers informed of delivery status. The meal kits arrive on time, and in good condition.
  • Flexibility of Contract: it’s easy to cancel, pause or change the subscription to the meal kit service.
  • Freshness of Food: the perishable ingredients in the meal kits are fresh and of a good quality.
  • Taste of the Food: the meals taste delicious, and match their online descriptions.
  • Value for Money: the cost is reasonable for the quality and service of the meal kit delivery service.
  • Variety of Meals: the meal kit brand has a wide range of meals to choose from, including those for specific dietary requirements.

The winning brand is the one that receives the highest Overall Satisfaction rating once all the scores from the Overall Satisfaction criteria are combined and averaged.

  • Overall Satisfaction is asked as a specific question and represents an individual measure, not a combined total of all criteria.
  • When we cannot determine a clear winner from the criteria for the Overall Satisfaction rating, we will then look at the other criteria measured in the rating.
    • The brand with the highest number of five-star ratings within the supporting criteria will become the five-star recipient in overall satisfaction, and thus win the award. If a clear leader still cannot be determined from the supporting criteria, joint winners will be declared.

Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included, so not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The brands rated in this survey are listed below in order of best overall satisfaction.

  • Bargain Box
  • My Food Bag
  • Hello Fresh


Find more information on our Most Satisfied Customer methodology.

Best meal kit brands in New Zealand

Bargain Box

Ratings Results

For the third year in a row, Bargain Box has earned Canstar Blue’s Most Satisfied Consumers | Meal Kit Delivery Award, and the top rating as NZ’s best meal kit delivery service.

In this year’s award ratings, it’s the only brand to earn a 5-Star rating for Overall Satisfaction from Kiwi consumers. It’s a top score it replicates in a further three areas: Taste of Food, Flexibility and Delivery Reliability. Across all other categories it earns excellent 4-Star ratings.

Editor’s Notes

Bargain Box is a thrifty, no frills service from My Food Bag. Aimed at delivering families affordable, great-quality meals, it’s perfect for those on a tight budget who still want to enjoy the ease and convenience of a meal kit delivery service.

In our ratings it scores 5 Stars for flexibility, and this is due to the fact that Bargain Box doesn’t tie its customers into long-term contracts. You can pause your deliveries, skip weeks or cancel your subscription at any time.

Featuring varied weekly menus, Bargain Boxes come in a range of sizes to suit all families. Boxes can be customised to feed between two and six people, covering three to five evening meals. And the more meals you order, the cheaper the price per plate becomes.

Average Bargain Box costs*:

  • 2 People: 3 Nights: $13.80 per plate – 5 Nights: $11.30 per plate
  • 4 People: 3 Nights: $9.20 per plate – 5 Nights: $7.40 per plate
  • 6 People: 3 Nights: $7.90 per plate – 5 Nights: $6.60 per plate

Many Bargain Box dishes cook in around 30 minutes, and recipes include:

  • Malaysian chicken curry laksa
  • Creamy chicken pie
  • Peanut kung pao pork
  • One-pot corn chowder
  • Korean veggie fried rice

All Bargain Box recipes use free-range produce, and 98% of ingredients are sourced from NZ.


my food bag

My Food Bag

Ratings Results

Placing second in our award ratings, just behind Bargain Box, its more affordable stablemate, My Food Bag earns a great set of ratings in this year’s award.

Along with a 4-Star rating for Overall Satisfaction, it attains top scores in three categories: Customer Service, Freshness of Food and Variety of Meals.

It scores 4 Stars for Taste, Contract Flexibility and Delivery Reliability, and one 3-Star rating, for Value for Money.

Editor’s Notes

My Food Bag is the highest profile food kit delivery brand in the market, thanks in part due to its co-founder, celebrity chef Nadia Lim.

The My Choice Bag is the brand’s most popular option, and can be designed to feed two or four people over three, four, or five nights. Each week there is a range of over 30 recipes to choose from.

Also available is the Fresh Start bag, which provides a selection of 20 recipes across two healthy dish options: Low Calorie (450 calories) & Active (protein-rich <650 calories). All Fresh Start food kits are available in single, two- and four-person options.

My Food Bag also offers a vegetarian meal kit.

Average My Food Bag costs*:

My Choice:

2 People: 3 Nights: $18.83 per plate – 5 Nights: $17 per plate

4 People: 3 Nights: $12.83 per plate – 5 Nights: $10.80 per plate

Fresh Start:

1 Person: 3 Nights: $32.33 per plate – 5 Nights: $24.40 per plate

2 People: 3 Nights: $25.33 per plate – 5 Nights: $18.50 per plate

4 People: 3 Nights: $15.67 per plate – 5 Nights: $11.75 per plate

Cook times vary depending on your choices, from around 15 minutes to an hour, and recipes include:

  • Beef eye-fillet
  • Cheesy chicken & corn pie
  • Sicilian-style lamb bolognese
  • Ponzu chicken
  • Mediterranean spinach & feta balls

All My Food Bag recipes use free-range produce, and 98% of ingredients are sourced from NZ.


Hello Fresh

Ratings Results

Hello Fresh rounds out this year’s award ratings and scores predominantly 3-Star ratings across all categories, except two 4-Star ratings, for Taste of Food and Delivery Reliability.

While 3 Stars is not a top rating, it still indicates that Hello Fresh’s customers are content with the service and value the meal kit delivery brand offers.

Editor’s Notes

A global brand, Hello Fresh offers different meal plan sizes to suit two or six people, from three to five meals per week.

It offers over 32 recipes each week, across the following categories:

  • Classic
  • Calorie Smart
  • Carb Smart
  • Family Friendly

  • Flexitarian
  • Protein Rich
  • Quick & Easy
  • Vegetarian

Average Hello Fresh costs*:

2 People: 3 Nights: $15 per plate – 5 Nights: $13 per plate

4 People: 3 Nights: $11.25 per plate – 5 Nights: $9.50 per plate

6 People: 3 Nights: $10.56 per plate – 5 Nights: $9 per plate

Meals typically cook in around 30-40 minutes, and recipes include:

  • Cheesy bacon and corn fritters
  • BBQ chicken, creamy potato salad with pear salad
  • Honey, Soy & Ginger Beef Meatballs with ponzu and radish slaw
  • Plant-Based Ravioli & Creamy Mushroom

*NB: All costs correct at time of writing (30/05/2023) and do not include special offers or discounts. For more information, please refer to individual websites.

Other meal kit brands

Not all supermarket brands in the market qualify for our ratings (based on minimum survey sample size), but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth considering. Here are other meal kit brands to check out before making your final decision.

  • Kai Box
  • Woop

Kai Box

Editor’s Notes

Kai Box offers a range of meal kits that contain all the pre-measured ingredients and recipes you need to cook healthy plant-based meals at home. Each Kia Box is free of meat, dairy and eggs.

Kai Boxes include:

  • Breakfast Kai Box: $42.99 (4 meals)
  • The Couples Box: from $104.99 (4 meals)
  • The Family Box: from $123.99 (4 meals)
  • Kickstart Kai Box: $162.99 (5 meals)

Each family box meal feeds 3 adults or 2 adults and 2 young children. Each breakfast/couples/kickstart box meal feeds 2 adults.


Woop!

Editor’s Notes

When comparing Woop! to other meal kit providers, its main point of difference is that the ingredients for its dishes are preprepared. For example, vegetables are diced and chopped and sometimes even par-cooked. Because of this extra preparation, Woop!’s prices tend to be higher than its competitors.

Woop! currently offers five menu selections:

  • Foodie: internationally inspired dishes ($284 – 4 people/4 dishes)
  • Classic: family and kid friendly recipes ($229 – 4 people/4 dishes)
  • Balance: healthy recipes averaging 550Kcal ($288 – 4 people/4 dishes)
  • Vegetarian ($239 – 4 people/4 dishes)
  • Gluten-free ($242 – 4 people/3 dishes)

Different meal kits come in options to feed from between 2-4 people with between 3-5 dishes.

Choosing the Right Meal Kit for You

When choosing the right meal kit to feed you and your family, what brand qualities do you rate most highly? Given that a meal kit is all about the food, you might think that taste and freshness might be the most important qualities for most people. But no, just 16% of those in our survey rate those as the most important factors when scoring their choice of meal kit.

But given the spike in grocery prices over the past year, it’s perhaps no surprise that value is Kiwi consumers’ greatest concern. Close to a third of those in our survey (30%) cite Value for Money as the greatest driver of their satisfaction with their choice of meal kit. Even Customer Service just pips Freshness and Taste: the No.1 concern for 18% of respondents.

Here’s the full rundown of what the consumers in our survey rate as the most important factors when it comes to their Overall Satisfaction levels with their meal kit choices:

  • Value for Money: 30%
  • Customer Service: 18%
  • Freshness of Food: 16%
  • Taste of the Food: 16%
  • Variety of Meals: 11%
  • Delivery Reliability/Timing: 4%
  • Flexibility: 5%

About the editor of this page

This report was written by Canstar’s Editor, Bruce Pitchers. Bruce has three decades’ experience as a journalist and has worked for major media companies in the UK and Australasia, including ACP, Bauer Media Group, Fairfax, Pacific Magazines, News Corp and TVNZ. Prior to Canstar, he worked as a freelancer, including for The Australian Financial Review, the NZ Financial Markets Authority, and for real estate companies on both sides of the Tasman.

MORE INFORMATION

Key statistics

Tried different foods due to meal kits: 44%

Use meal kit service for convenience: 42%

Meal kits are a healthy option: 36%

Waste less food due to meal kits: 34%

Have a better diet due to using meal kits: 24%

Weekly food spend

Food Spend $ %
Less than $50 2%
$50 – $100 18%
$101 – $200 45%
$201 – $300 26%
$300+ 10%

Type of Meal Kits

Meal kits only: 79%

A combination of the two: 13%

Ready-made meals: 8%

Canstar Blue surveyed 5087 New Zealand consumers across a range of categories to measure and track customer satisfaction, via ISO 26362 accredited research panels managed by Qualtrics. The outcomes reported are the results from respondents who had purchased and used a meal kit delivery service within the last 12 months. In this case, 1373 New Zealanders. Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included. Results are comparative and it should be noted that brands receiving three stars have still achieved a satisfaction measure of at least six out of 10. Not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The ratings table is first sorted by star ratings and then by mean overall satisfaction. A rated brand may receive a ‘N/A’ (Not Applicable) rating if it does not receive the minimum number of responses for that criteria.

The past winners from Canstar Blue’s Meal Kits ratings:

  • 2022: Bargain Box
  • 2021: Bargain Box
  • 2020: Hello Fresh
  • 2019: My Food Bag
  • 2018: Bargain Box

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