Meal kit newcomer HelloFresh admits its ginger is imported

HelloFresh said its ginger was from New Zealand but now admits that it was imported. Photo / Supplied

HelloFresh has been operating in the New Zealand market for just two weeks and already has had to apologise to its customers for a sourcing blunder.

The Berlin-based meal kit company claimed its ginger ingredient was New Zealand produce but has now said that was incorrect and it is imported.

A spokesman for the company said the error occurred when the third party responsible for supplying ginger for its kits did not update the label template that was used for a number of ingredients.

"This was a genuine error and HelloFresh has sent an apology email to the customers that may have been affected. This is very much in the spirit of transparency and ownership of mistakes that they abide by," the spokesman said.

"HelloFresh is hugely grateful for the positive response of New Zealanders to their launch. They are managing to meet their demand at the same time as growing their local supplier base and setting up the complex supply chain."

The company, which also operates in the UK, US, Australia and other countries in Europe, said it tailored its service to satisfy Kiwi demands, with local produce and ingredients at the heart of their meals.

Thirty-eight of its 44 ingredients are said to be local New Zealand produce.

HelloFresh launched in New Zealand on September 13, taking on rival meal kit company My Food Bag.

Tom Rutledge, HelloFresh Australia and New Zealand CEO, earlier in the month said the company was looking forward to offering Kiwi customers a new meal kit experience.

"We're very enthusiastic about bringing HelloFresh to New Zealand, mainly because we will be working directly with the Kiwi produce that we know to be the envy of the world. Beyond that, our New Zealand customers are going to have a very direct say in the recipes we send and what works for them the most at dinnertime," Rutledge said.

HelloFresh delivered 48.9 million meals to 1.84 million customers worldwide in the three-month period between April 1 and June 30.