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 and Variety of Meals.
See our Ratings Methodology
For the fourth year in a row, Bargain Box has been rated the No.1 meal kit by Kiwi home cooks.
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 592 Kiwis who had used a meal kit delivery service in the past 12 months for their feedback on their experiences.
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:
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.
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.
Find more information on our Most Satisfied Customer methodology.
For the fourth year in a row, Bargain Box has been rated NZ’s best meal kit, earning Canstar Blue’s Most Satisfied Consumers | Meal Kit Delivery Award.
Once again, in our award ratings, it’s the only brand to earn 5 Stars for Overall Satisfaction and Value for Money from Kiwi consumers. And it’s a top score Bargain Box replicates in every other category, except for Variety of Meals, for which it earns a great 4-Star rating.
Bargain Box is a great value option from My Food Bag. Delivering affordable, great-quality meals, Bargain Box is perfect for budget-conscious families that still want to enjoy the ease and convenience of a meal kit delivery service.
In our ratings, Bargain Box scores 5 Stars for flexibility, as there are no long-term contracts. You can pause your deliveries, skip weeks or cancel your subscription at any time.
Bargain Box features varied weekly menus, and offers 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. Meal kits include Veggie, Quick & Easy and Healthy Choices options.
Many Bargain Box dishes cook in around 30 minutes, and recipes include:
All Bargain Box recipes use free-range produce, and 98% of ingredients are sourced from NZ.
My Food Bag places second in our award ratings, just behind Bargain Box. And just like its more economical stablemate, it earns a great set of ratings in this year’s award: an impeccable set of 4- and 5-Star ratings across all categories.
For Overall Satisfaction and Value for Money My Food Bag earns 4-Star ratings. It earns its top accolades for Freshness of Food, Customer Service and Taste of Food.
My Food Bag is the highest profile food kit delivery brand in the market, thanks to its co-founder, celebrity chef Nadia Lim.
Meal kits include Family Favourites, Healthy Choices, Veggie & Plant Based, Gluten Free and Quick Prep 15-min. There is also a Gourmet option for an additional $3.99 per plate.
My Choice:
2 People: 3 Nights: $19.17 per plate – 5 Nights: $17.00 per plate
4 People: 3 Nights: $13.17 per plate – 5 Nights: $11.00 per plate
Fresh Start (healthy calorie-controlled meals for weight loss):
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:
All My Food Bag recipes use free-range produce, and 98% of ingredients are sourced from NZ.
Hello Fresh rounds out this year’s award ratings. It earns 3-Star ratings for both Overall Satisfaction and Value for Money. And while these are not top ratings, they are also not an indication of dissatisfaction. Rather, they indicate that Hello Fresh’s customers are happy with the service and value the meal kit brand delivers.
Indeed, Hello Fresh earns predominantly 5-Star ratings, earning three for Taste of Food, Variety of Meals and Delivery Reliability. Plus 4-Star reviews for Freshness of Food, Customer Service and Flexibility.
A global brand, Hello Fresh offers different meal plan sizes to suit two, four or six people, from three to five meals per week.
It offers over 30 recipes each week, across the following categories:
2 People: 3 Nights: $14.67 per plate – 5 Nights: $12.50 per plate
4 People: 3 Nights: $10.67 per plate – 5 Nights: $8.75 per plate
6 People: 3 Nights: $10.17 per plate – 5 Nights: $8.50 per plate
Meals typically cook in around 30-40 minutes, and recipes include:
*NB: All costs correct at time of writing (06/06/2024) and do not include special offers or discounts. For more information, please refer to individual websites.
Not all meal kit 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 is another meal kit brand to check out before making your final decision.
Woop!Woop!’s 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:
Different meal kits come in options to feed from between 2-4 people with between 3-5 dishes.
Food and mealtimes are a focus of family life. And it’s clear from Canstar Blue’s research that food drives Kiwi consumers’ meal kit choices: Freshness of Food (17%), Taste of Food (14%) and Variety of Meals (14%) are the most important factors for close to half of those in our research.
However, another key consideration is cost. Although food-price inflation has eased, Value for Money is still the main consideration for over a quarter of respondents in our survey.
Customer Service factors highly in all Canstar Blue consumer surveys. And it’s an important part of the overall meal-kit experience, too. Rated the No.1 concern by 16% of our respondents, it places above Taste of Food (14%) and Variety of Meals (14%).
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:
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.
Tried different foods due to meal kits: 45%
Use meal kit service for convenience: 45%
Meal kits are a healthy option: 36%
Waste less food due to meal kits: 34%
Have a better diet due to using meal kits: 25%
| Food Spend $ | % |
| Less than $50 | 2% |
| $50 – $100 | 16% |
| $101 – $200 | 41% |
| $201 – $300 | 28% |
| $300+ | 13% |
Canstar Blue surveyed 2531 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, 592 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:
Best-Rated Meal Kits - March 20th
What is Clubcard?
Clubcard is a loyalty program offered by the supermarket chain New World. It allows customers to earn either Flybuys, New World Dollars or Airpoints Dollars when shopping instore and online.
Clubcard members are eligible …
– Read more
Best-Rated Meal Kits - March 11th
Do you know your soy milk from your flaxseed milk? Here is a guide to the different types of milk in your supermarket.
– Read more
Best-Rated Meal Kits - February 16th
What is Everyday Rewards?
Everyday Rewards is a loyalty program offered by the supermarket chain Woolworths. It allows customers to accumulate points on their purchases at Woolworths stores, when refueling at BP, using an ASB rewards …
Best-Rated Meal Kits - November 14th
What is a milk frother?
As the name suggests, a milk frother is a nifty gadget used to froth milk, typically to add to coffees and specialty drinks, such as frappés and even cocktails. It works …
Best-Rated BBQs - May 27th
Author: Michael Lund
Want to save money on groceries? Canstar has some great tips to provide relief at the check-out:
How to Save Money on Groceries
1. Make a weekly meal plan
One of the best ways to save …
– Read more