Heavy-Protein Meal Cost Comparison: HelloFresh vs. Swiss Supermarkets
Key Takeaways
Visual TL;DR: HelloFresh and Grocery Stores Costs Per Portion (heavy-protein)
Quick Summary: HelloFresh and Grocery Stores Costs Per Portion
HelloFresh’s Discounted First-Order Price: ~5–8 CHF/portion
New HelloFresh customers can initially pay ~5–8 CHF/portion on heavy-protein meals. Once the promotional period ends, costs usually climb to ~10–14 CHF or more—often exceeded by supermarket deals.
Pepesto’s Everyday Price: starting from ~2.50–3 CHF/portion
By tapping into Swiss supermarkets, Pepesto consistently undercuts HelloFresh—when no discount codes are applied and is often competitive for four-person heavy-protein meal plans.
Short-Term Convenience with HelloFresh
If you have a coupon or prefer an easy, prepackaged kit, HelloFresh may be appealing—for two- or four- person households testing out heavy-protein recipes.
Long-Term Savings and Flexibility with Pepesto
In many four-person, heavy-protein plans, Pepesto delivers better value than HelloFresh’s offering for existing users and frequently competes with its new-user deals—depending on what you’re optimizing for, such as price, quality, or brand preference. Over time, Pepesto also allows you to select your own groceries and maintain greater control over both budget and menu variety.
Methodology 💡
Our analysis compares the costs associated with HelloFresh and Pepesto over a given week. We considered various household sizes and meal frequencies to provide a comprehensive overview.
Data Sources:
- 📊 HelloFresh pricing is based on current HelloFresh subscriptions and discounts in Switzerland. We consider a new user who gets a 50% discount on their first order, and existing users who don't have a discount code and pay the regular price.
- 📈 Pepesto pricing is dynamically calculated using local supermarket prices from Coop, Migros, Farmy, and Aldi.
- 🔍 We use HelloFresh recipes as a starting point and create equivalent Pepesto menus for different number of people and portion counts. Our technology quickly matches recipes to supermarket products, enabling rapid price calculation for both individual recipes and entire menus.
- ℹ️ We list the top 3 questions below, don't forget to also check the full FAQ
- https://www.hellofresh.ch/recipes/cipollata-bratwurstli-bratkartoffelpfanne-671f977110bbc833b98f9036
- https://www.hellofresh.ch/recipes/rotes-thai-curry-mit-garnelen-671f977210bbc833b98f9048
- https://www.hellofresh.ch/recipes/harissa-pouletfilet-mit-pastinake-671f975e4251e0dbe4bdf6fe
- https://www.hellofresh.ch/recipes/frische-linguine-mit-pouletgeschnetzeltem-675abe68a1a7f6303a77a75c
- https://www.hellofresh.ch/recipes/rheinischer-ruebli-rindshack-eintopf-671f977e10bbc833b98f90d6
- Download and install the Pepesto app.
- Adjust the portions in settings. Portions in Pepesto is the equivalent of people in HelloFresh.
- Import the recipes (recipes is the number of meals in HelloFresh). When importing a recipe (either from HelloFresh or anywhere else), Pepesto adjusts the recipe based on the portions.
- Add the recipe to the meal plan.
- Have a look at the price and the shopping list.
- Let us know how it went and if you have any feedback for us, we love feedback!
Detailed Cost Data & Visualizations 📈
Per-Portion Costs Table
| People | Meals/Week | Portions | New User Price (50%) | Existing User Price | New user/portion | Existing User/portion | Coop | Migros | Farmy | Aldi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2 | 4 | 32.50 | 65.00 | 8.13 | 18.74 | 9.70 | 8.75 | 15.64 | 6.60 |
| 2 | 3 | 6 | 40.00 | 80.00 | 6.67 | 14.99 | 7.52 | 7.06 | 11.44 | 5.08 |
| 2 | 4 | 8 | 50.00 | 100.00 | 6.25 | 13.74 | 9.67 | 7.39 | 11.38 | 4.86 |
| 2 | 5 | 10 | 60.00 | 120.00 | 6.00 | 13.00 | 10.01 | 7.90 | 12.18 | 5.30 |
| 4 | 2 | 8 | 52.50 | 105.00 | 6.56 | 14.37 | 8.54 | 6.42 | 12.28 | 4.02 |
| 4 | 3 | 12 | 65.00 | 130.00 | 5.42 | 11.66 | 5.98 | 4.71 | 8.55 | 2.91 |
| 4 | 4 | 16 | 80.00 | 160.00 | 5.00 | 10.62 | 4.81 | 4.56 | 7.12 | 2.81 |
| 4 | 5 | 20 | 92.50 | 185.00 | 4.63 | 9.75 | 5.38 | 4.63 | 7.35 | 3.17 |
Visual TL;DR: HelloFresh and Grocery Stores Costs Per Portion (heavy-protein)
👉 This chart compares cost per portion for HelloFresh (both new-user and existing-user rates) with several Swiss supermarkets for two- and four-person meal plans.
Conclusion 🌟
Both HelloFresh and Pepesto cater to busy professionals, families, and anyone wanting a convenient meal-planning approach. While HelloFresh works well as an introduction—thanks to promotional discounts and simplified prep—Pepesto consistently proves more adaptable and cost-effective once new-user offers expire. Based on the heavy-protein data, Swiss supermarkets often provide portions at 15–65% below HelloFresh’s existing-user rates, offering substantial yearly savings and broader choice and quantity in ingredients.
Whether you’re trying meal kits for the first time or seeking a budget-friendly, sustainable method for planning meals long-term, Pepesto delivers both flexibility and notable cost reductions—all while keeping meal variety in your hands.
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