The basics:

• HelloFresh will close its Swedesboro distribution center
• 374 employees will be laid off by Nov. 17
• 170,000-square-foot facility will close this fall
• Operations will shift to other fulfillment centers

Meal kit company HelloFresh is shutting down its distribution center in South Jersey.

Ahead of the closure, the company notified 374 employees at the Swedesboro facility that it will let them go by Nov. 17, according to a filing with the state Department of Labor & Workforce Development.

A HelloFresh spokesperson said, “Operational efficiency is central to everything we do at HelloFresh and we regularly evaluate our fulfillment setup to ensure we operate as efficiently as possible. Following a review of our operational footprint, we have made the difficult decision to close our Swedesboro, N.J., distribution center.”

They added that HelloFresh expects to shift operations to other parts of its broader fulfillment network after it winds down the 170,000-square-foot Commerce Boulevard site this fall.

“We are deeply grateful for the contributions of our Swedesboro team members and we are committed to supporting affected eligible employees through this transition with several assistance, extended healthcare support, career transition resources and internal transfer opportunities where available,” the media representative said.

Post-pandemic planning

Founded 15 years ago in Germany, HelloFresh is known for delivering meal kits with pre-portioned ingredients and recipes directly to customers.

During the past decade, the company has expanded beyond its original model. It acquired specialty meal kit brand Green Chef as well as prepared, ready-to-eat meal brand Factor. HelloFresh also launched its own value meal-kit brand and unveiled grocery items such as snacks, sides, desserts and breakfast products.

Its business surged during the pandemic. Revenue reached $8 billion in 2022, when HelloFresh delivered more than 1 billion meals worldwide.

In 2025, HelloFresh generated $7.8 billion in revenue and delivered about 852 million meals. North America accounted for roughly half (427.9 million) of those meals, according to the company’s annual report. As of December 2025, HelloFresh had about 19,000 employees worldwide. That includes around 9,700 in the U.S., the company reported.

After expanding rapidly during COVID as more consumers cooked at home, demand has cooled as people returned to restaurants and grocery stores.

In 2024, HelloFresh launched a turnaround strategy. Under the plan, it has consolidated facilities, cut jobs and improved productivity across its fulfillment network while focusing on profitability and more frequent customers.

Turning the corner

The company is targeting about $325 million in annual savings by 2026 through labor and overhead reductions, a smaller production footprint, procurement savings and lower spending.

As of the end of 2025, HelloFresh had reached about $175 million in savings and implemented about 80% of the initiatives. It expects another $150 million in annual savings during 2026, the company recently reported.

Globally, HelloFresh has more than three dozen locations supporting its meal kit and ready-to-eat meals business. Recent closures of HelloFresh sites in California, Georgia, Texas and Illinois have impacted more than 1,200 workers, according to local reports.

In the U.S., the company has corporate offices in New York City, Boulder and Chicago, according to its website.

In addition to Swedesboro, its current network of nine distribution centers nationwide includes a 325,000-square-foot site in Newark that opened 10 years ago. HelloFresh had launched a 127,055-square-foot distribution hub in Totowa in 2021 as its third local facility. However, that site closed in late 2023, a company spokesperson told NJBIZ.

“At that time, the volume from the Totowa site was consolidated to our other fulfillment centers in Newark, N.J., Phoenix, and Irving, Texas,” the media representative said.