My experience as a Business Analyst at HelloFresh
In this article, Arthur EVERARD (ESSEC Business School, Master in Finance Program – Master in Finance, 2023-2024) shares his professional experience as a business analyst at Hellofresh Benelux, the largest meal kit provider in the world.
About the company
HelloFresh is a meal-kit delivery company founded in Berlin, Germany in 2011 by Dominik Richter and Thomas Griesel. The company ships preportioned ingredients and recipes to customers to prepare home-cooked meals. HelloFresh went public in November 2017, completing its IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The company’s stock price rose significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 as demand for meal kits surged due to lockdowns and reluctance to grocery shop in-person. However, in 2022 the stock declined from its pandemic highs as consumers returned to pre-pandemic habits and inflation/recession concerns weighed on the stock price. Despite this drop, HelloFresh remains one of the largest meal kit providers globally. HelloFresh reported record revenue of €5.99 billion in 2021, a 62.5% increase over 2020, with adjusted EBITDA of €827 million. The company provides over 30 different recipes each week, shipping pre-portioned fresh ingredients and step-by-step instructions for dishes such as seared steak with mustard sauce, chicken enchiladas, and zucchini noodle Bolognese. HelloFresh carries over €1 billion in total debt but remains profitable, positioning itself as the largest meal-kit provider globally based on market share.
Logo of HelloFresh.
Source: the company.
My internship
During my six-month internship at HelloFresh, I worked within the product development department on the HelloFresh Market. The product development department at HelloFresh is responsible for optimizing the HelloFresh Market, which is the section of the HelloFresh website that allows customers to add individual items to supplement their regular meal kits. The product development team analyzes sales data and customer feedback to determine the optimal mix of products to offer on the Market that will maximize sales and customer satisfaction.
My missions
I extracted data using SQL code and created pivot tables to analyze product and category performance. Using this data, I generated charts and visualizations that provided insights into growth opportunities. I also managed the database of over 4,000 products, monitoring demand and availability. Additionally, I led ten research projects focused on competitive analysis and predicting demand fluctuations in the Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxemburg) region.
Required skills and knowledge
Throughout my internship at HelloFresh, I developed a valuable mix of hard and soft skills. In terms of hard skills, I improved my Excel abilities considerably, including advanced use of pivot tables, lookups, and complex formulas. I also honed my PowerPoint skills to deliver impactful presentations. Regarding soft skills, I learned the importance of teamwork, time management, and public speaking. Collaborating with team members, prioritizing tasks, and presenting findings to stakeholders were critical.
What I learned
Additionally, I gained important knowledge specific to my role. I learned how to write and optimize SQL code to extract and analyze large datasets efficiently. My Excel modeling skills became sharper through regular use of data analysis, lookups, and visualizations. I gained useful insight into the food industry by managing HelloFresh’s extensive product database. The internship gave me valuable exposure to e-commerce operations and using data to inform business decisions. I also developed a deeper understanding of key performance metrics like AOV, ticket size, and repeat rate that guide strategy for online retailers. Overall, this internship provided me with marketable hard and soft skills and enriched my familiarity with the data-driven decision making crucial in food e-commerce.
Key concepts related my internship
I present below three key concepts that I used throughout my internship: Average Order Value, Ticket Size, and Repeat Customer Rate.
Average Order Value (AOV)
This metric calculates the average amount spent per order across all customers. It is important for e-commerce because it indicates whether customers are spending more or less per transaction over time. A high AOV signals customers are purchasing more items per order or higher-value items. Tracking AOV helps e-commerce optimize pricing, discounts, product selection, and cross-selling tactics to encourage larger basket sizes. In the department we used to check the evolution of the AOV of the week compared to the previous week.
Ticket Size
Ticket size measures the average number of items purchased per order by customers. Monitoring this shows if customers are adding more products to their carts from an order to another, which boosts revenue. A low or declining ticket size could indicate issues with product selection, bundles/recommendations, or that customers are running out of reasons to buy more per order.
Repeat Customer Rate
The repeat customer rate shows the percentage of customers that make more than one purchase with the company over two consecutive periods (say six months or one year). A high repeat rate is crucial for e-commerce profitability because acquiring new customers is more expensive than retaining existing ones. Repeat customers tend to spend more over their lifetime too. This metric indicates whether marketing efforts and customer experience lead to loyal, valuable long-term customers.
Why should I be interested in this post?
The overview of HelloFresh and description of the product development department would be useful reading for anyone interested in working in the food or e-commerce industries as an analyst or in a finance role. The details provided give insight into how data analysis and financial metrics are utilized at a meal-kit company to optimize product selection and drive growth. Understanding how databases are leveraged, performance is monitored, and strategic decisions are informed by data analysis is applicable for those pursuing analyst positions that require SQL, Excel, and visualization skills. Additionally, the explanation of key business concepts like average order value , ticket size, and repeat customer rate provides a look into e-commerce economics that would benefit those interested in finance roles focused on online retail and subscription businesses. In summary, the text illustrates responsibilities and skills sought after in analytical and financial positions at food and e-commerce companies.
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Useful resources
About the author
The article was written in December 2023 by Arthur EVERARD (ESSEC Business School, Master in Finance Program – Master in Finance, 2023-2024).