Budget HelloFresh rival Dinnerly launches in WA as part of aggressive expansion

HelloFresh rival Marley Spoon has expanded into WA with its budget brand Dinnerly – the first to deliver meal kits to every Australian state and territory.

A HelloFresh rival is aggressively expanding into its final Australian frontier on not one but two fronts and also pepping up its US presence as the popularity of home meal kit deliveries soars.

Marley Spoon built up its cash war chest in October through a discounted $56 million placement to institutions to fuel its growth and slashed its debt the following month.

It has now entered the West Australian market through its budget brand Dinnerly, which markets itself as the nation’s most affordable meal kit and already ships to most of NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, the Northern Territory, Tasmania and ACT.

The expansion makes Dinnerly the first meal kit to deliver to every Australian state and territory.

Dinnerly’s beef nasi goreng Feed-a-Crowd kit for up to eight people

The Berlin-based subscription service said on Friday it recently took possession of its third Australian manufacturing centre at Bibra Lake in Perth’s south and was now taking orders for the greater Perth area.

Dinnerly says its plans start from $3.13 per person through its Feed-a-Crowd kits for up to eight people, and instead of providing paper recipe cards as with Marley Spoon, five-step recipes are available digitally.

The company says that keeps prices low along with fewer ingredients per dish and simple packaging.

Providing recipes digitally rather than on paper means lower cost.

All of the ingredients are sourced in Australia, but Dinnerly buys all the fresh vegetables, poultry and meat in each state and territory.

“We look forward to bringing fresh food to every corner of the state (WA), as well as contributing to the local communities in which we operate,” Dinnerly Australia chief executive Rolf Weber said.

WA is also expected to get the Marley Spoon service in the first half of 2021.

Marley Spoon's medley tomato basil salad.

Marley Spoon currently delivers to the metro and surrounding areas of Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Hobart, Launceston, Adelaide, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Wollongong, Newcastle and Darwin.

The company says it is scheduled to take possession of its new custom-built Sydney manufacturing centre in the June quarter, tripling its production footprint in the city to 14,000sq m.

It will also treble its manufacturing footprint on the US West Coast next year when it will also launch its next generation, computer-aided manufacturing technology in Europe and the US to increase productivity and picking quality.

Dinnerly sources all the fresh vegetables, poultry and meat in each state and territory.

“Marley Spoon believes consumers’ behaviour of switching from offline to online shopping in the category is still in its early phase, supporting growth for many years to come,” the ASX-listed group said.

“To manage this growth and the increasing volume of customers’ orders, Marley Spoon is significantly increasing production capacity across its major markets.”

Shares in Marley Spoon, which has a partnership with South Australian culinary icon Maggie Beer, jumped almost 5 per cent in intraday trade to $2.60.

Marley Spoon's savoury spiced baklava.

Originally published as Budget HelloFresh rival Dinnerly launches in WA as part of aggressive expansion