Gousto
Gousto is a UK-based direct-to-consumer meal-kit subscription retailer (founded 2012) that delivers pre-portioned ingredients and recipe cards to households across the UK and Republic of Ireland, offering 207+ recipes weekly for 1-5 person boxes from its automated Warrington facility.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Gousto does
Gousto is a UK-based direct-to-consumer meal-kit manufacturer and subscription retailer founded in 2012 and headquartered in London. The company delivers fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and step-by-step recipe cards to UK and Republic of Ireland households through its own e-commerce website, iOS/Android mobile apps, and a temperature-controlled courier network. Customers select 2-5 recipes per week for households of 1-5 people from a catalogue of 207+ weekly recipes (June 2026), the largest menu in the UK meal-kit category and roughly 2.5x the offering of nearest competitor HelloFresh. The subscription model is explicitly no-lock-in with skip, pause and cancel flexibility, monetised via per-portion pricing starting at £3.20 (standard 5x4 box) plus a £3.99 delivery fee and an optional Gousto Market add-on marketplace for wine, chocolate and kitchen equipment.
The operating model integrates a proprietary AI-powered recipe personalization layer with advanced manufacturing automation. A unified data platform has lifted mechanical availability to 98% at the Warrington production facility, which fulfils the majority of customer demand and is the basis for a cost-per-portion structural advantage. The company also operates a second, older site at Spalding (Clay Lake) that is being closed in 2026 with ~290 redundancies as volumes consolidate to Warrington. Distribution is currently domestic to the UK and Ireland; manufacturing is concentrated at Warrington with no parent-company structure identified.
Financially, Gousto reported FY2025 revenue of £342M (+10% YoY) and adjusted EBITDA of £45M (+7% YoY), serving nearly 5 million customers and processing ~140 million meal kits annually. The company is privately held, most recently valued at $1.7 billion following a $230M secondary placement led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 in February 2022 (with Fidelity International, Grosvenor Food & AgTech and Railpen), and a subsequent £50M raise in February 2023. Founder Timo Boldt remains CEO; institutional shareholders remain the controlling capital base.
Gousto firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Gousto
- Legal name
- Gousto
- Website
- https://gousto.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Gousto is a UK-based direct-to-consumer meal-kit subscription retailer (founded 2012) that delivers pre-portioned ingredients and recipe cards to households across the UK and Republic of Ireland, offering 207+ recipes weekly for 1-5 person boxes from its automated Warrington facility.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Gousto industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Meal Kit Delivery
- NAICS
- Frozen Specialty Food Manufacturing (311412)
- SIC
- Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Online Meal Kits & Cook-at-Home Boxes (CRAHAIAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Meal Kits & Recipe Box Subscriptions (AFAIANAA), Premium Gourmet & Chef-Curated Meal Kits/Prepared Meals (CRAHAJAK)
Keywords
Where Gousto is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
Gousto business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Meal Kit Subscription: Gousto generates revenue through recurring subscription fees for weekly/fortnightly/monthly meal kit deliveries. Customers choose 2-5 recipes for 1-5 people and pay per portion. Additional revenue comes from delivery fees and optional Gousto Market add-ons.
- Delivery Fee: £3.99 delivery fee charged per order, adding to the recurring subscription revenue stream.
- Gousto Market Add-ons: Optional add-ons including wine, chocolate, and kitchen equipment available for purchase alongside meal kit subscriptions.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | 5-person household, 3 recipes |
| Subscription | Monthly | 5-person household, 2 recipes |
| Subscription | Monthly | 4-person household, 5 recipes (best value) |
| Subscription | Monthly | 4-person household, 4 recipes |
| Subscription | Monthly | 3-person household, 5 recipes |
| Subscription | Monthly | 2-person household, 5 recipes |
| Subscription | Monthly | 1-person household, 5 recipes |
| Subscription | Monthly | 1-person household, 2 recipes |
| Subscription | Monthly | New customer introductory pricing |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Gousto product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Gousto operates a direct-to-consumer subscription meal-kit service delivering fresh, pre-portioned ingredients with step-by-step recipe cards to UK and Ireland households. Customers select 2-5 recipes weekly for 1-5 people from a rotating menu of 175-207+ recipes, with AI-powered personalization, flexible skip/pause scheduling, and no lock-in contracts.
Product overview
Gousto is a UK-based meal kit delivery service offering a subscription-based model that delivers fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and easy-to-follow recipe cards directly to customers. The core product is the Gousto Food Box, which customers customize by choosing 2-5 recipes weekly from over 175+ available recipes for 1-5 people. The offering spans multiple recipe collections including the Health Hub (Calorie Controlled, Protein Hit, Veg Boost, Fibre Fix), Family Kitchen, 10-Minute Meals, and vegetarian/vegan options. Gousto Market serves as an add-on marketplace for extras like wine and kitchen equipment. The service is accessible via website and mobile app (iOS and Android), with flexible subscription management allowing customers to skip, pause, or cancel anytime.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Gousto Food Box The main meal kit subscription service delivering fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and step-by-step recipe cards to customers' doors. Customers choose 2-5 recipes weekly for 1-5 people from over 175-207+ recipes.
- Gousto Market An add-on offering providing extras such as wine, chocolate, and kitchen equipment that customers can add to their recipe box orders.
- Gousto Mobile App Mobile application for iOS and Android enabling customers to browse menus, select recipes, manage subscriptions, skip deliveries, and track orders on mobile devices.
Quantifiable outcome
- 23% lower carbon emissions vs equivalent supermarket shop
- +7 more outcomes
Companies that use Gousto
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles6 records
Gousto technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability1 record
Feature3 records
Gousto partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- FareSharecoreFood donation partnership diverting surplus food to those in need. Diverted 74 tonnes of food (175,000 meals) in 2024, bringing total past 2 million meals since partnership inception. Addresses both food waste reduction and community hunger.
- FoodstepscoreEnvironmental services company conducted comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Gousto's carbon footprint and food waste. Analysis independently verified via third party critical review and GHG Protocol Standard reasonable assurance statement. Validated Gousto's 23% lower emissions vs supermarkets claim.
Scale indicators14 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Gousto competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- HelloFresh: HelloFresh is the global and UK meal-kit subscription leader, offering ~80 weekly recipes with a near-identical DTC subscription model. Closest direct competitor to Gousto on product, pricing architecture, and target UK households.
- Mindful Chef: UK-based premium health-focused meal-kit subscription with ~28 weekly recipes. Directly competes with Gousto's Health Hub range and targets similar UK health-conscious households.
- Riverford Organic Farmers: UK organic veg-box and recipe-kit subscription, founded 1987, delivering weekly produce boxes with accompanying recipes. Comparable DTC subscription model and overlapping customer base with Gousto.
- Abel & Cole: UK organic grocery and recipe-box subscription delivering fresh, pre-portioned ingredients weekly. Overlaps with Gousto on subscription mechanics, sustainability positioning, and UK household targeting.
- Green Chef: Organic-certified meal-kit subscription operating in the UK with a comparable weekly recipe-box delivery model. Direct competitor focused on the same UK health-conscious household segment as Gousto.
Emerging players
- Pasta Evangelists: UK DTC fresh-pasta meal-kit brand delivering restaurant-quality pasta dishes with pre-portioned ingredients. Niche but adjacent product offering targeting convenience-driven UK households.
- Marley's (The Vegetable Co): UK plant-based meal delivery brand offering chef-prepared refrigerated meals via subscription. Niche overlap with Gousto's vegetarian/vegan recipe collections, though distinct product format (ready-to-eat vs cook-at-home).
Broad incumbents
- COOK: UK frozen prepared-meal retailer with ~180 shops and nationwide delivery. Competes with Gousto on convenience-dinner occasions and serves overlapping UK family meal occasions, though via frozen rather than cook-at-home kits.
- Wiltshire Farm Foods: UK frozen ready-meal home delivery service with ~100 weekly meals. Competes for UK dinner occasions through direct delivery, overlapping with Gousto's elderly and convenience-seeking segments.
- Ocado Retail: UK online-only grocery retailer offering home delivery of fresh ingredients, recipe boxes, and prepared meals. Overlaps with Gousto on online grocery delivery to UK households and on recipe-led meal inspiration.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Gousto social profiles
Digital presenceGousto financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Gousto leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
Gousto funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds17 records
Investors15 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Gousto M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Gousto
What does Gousto do?
Gousto operates a direct-to-consumer subscription meal-kit service delivering fresh, pre-portioned ingredients with step-by-step recipe cards to UK and Ireland households. Customers select 2-5 recipes weekly for 1-5 people from a rotating menu of 175-207+ recipes, with AI-powered personalization, flexible skip/pause scheduling, and no lock-in contracts.
Is Gousto a public or private company?
Gousto is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Gousto founded?
Gousto was founded in 2012. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Gousto based?
Gousto is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Gousto make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Meal Kit Subscription is the primary driver. The others are delivery Fee and gousto Market Add-ons.
Who are Gousto's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are HelloFresh, Mindful Chef, Riverford Organic Farmers, Abel & Cole and Green Chef. Emerging players are Pasta Evangelists and Marley's (The Vegetable Co). Broad incumbents are COOK, Wiltshire Farm Foods and Ocado Retail.
Does Gousto have an API?
No public API is recorded for Gousto.
What industry is Gousto in?
Gousto's product category is Meal Kit Delivery. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAHAIAI, Online Meal Kits & Cook-at-Home Boxes, with a secondary code of AFAIANAA, Meal Kits & Recipe Box Subscriptions. Its NAICS code is 311412 and its SIC code is 2090.