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Fresh Prep Review 2024
The Vancouver meal kit scene is a very competitive market. See our Fresh Prep Review Summary for a quick comparison, or read through for an in-depth look at one of Vancouver’s, Victoria’s, and Alberta's favourite meal kit delivery companies.
Fresh Prep (not to be mistaken with Fresh City Farms, HelloFresh, and other fresh-inspired names) has only been around for a few years now, but they’ve carved out a dedicated following within their Vancouver home. With recent expansion to Victoria and Alberta and designs on next-stage expansion into Western Canada, Fresh Prep has plenty of room to grow. If you don't live in British Columbia or Alberta, you can inquire on the Fresh Prep website when they are coming to your area.
Official website:
www.freshprep.ca Plans for
Price ranges
$55.96 - $215.80 / week
$10.79 - $13.99 / serving
Pros and Cons
Fresh Prep: Editorial Notes
What we liked about Fresh Prep is that they established their own independent delivery system, whereas many of their meal kit competitors in Canada have to rely on delivery companies such as Purolator.
Many customers like the fact that Fresh Prep pre-cuts all of the vegetables. This may significantly reduce cooking time, especially with novice cooks — just open the box and drop the ingredients in the pot, pan, or oven tray.
Several Fresh Prep reviews commented on how impressed the customers were with the protein quality and selection. Others were impressed with the cooler bag construction that allows food to stay fresh for up to 8 hours without a fridge. In addition, Fresh Prep offers very competitive pricing that fits many budgets. First-time customers can get up to 75% off across the first four orders, and free delivery.
Fresh Prep makes a real effort to source as much as possible from the Vancouver area, so if you live there and supporting local business is a primary factor for you, consider that box checked.
Fresh Prep: Credibility and Reputation
| Established in | 2014 |
|---|---|
| Registered in | Vancouver, BC |
| CEO | Husein Rahemtulla, Director |
| Clients in Canada | 17,000 |
| Independent rating |
Dhruv Sood, Becky Brauer, and Husein Rahemtulla are the three local brains behind the Vancouver food subscription box startup. Rahemtulla recently spoke to the Globe and Mail, saying, “If we went too fast, too quickly, that would require losing focus on our operations. Things wouldn’t be as tight.”
Budgets are often stretched at startups, and Sood reported that things were no different for the first several years of Fresh Prep’s existence. But, the company has been going from strength to strength since then, and now has more than 350 employees, and in just three years saw its revenue grow by 540%!
When asked, the three co-founders said that they felt they could eventually become the best meal kit in Canada. “We like to think of ourselves,” Mr. Rahemtulla cleverly stated, “as the tortoise in the race.”
Fresh Prep: Meal Plans and Menus
Fresh Prep offers a two-person package and a four-person package. For each of these plans, you can order quantities of two, three, or four meals each week.
There are typically 14 different meals to choose from each week: 10 of these are individual portions and four are a family-size portion for four people. The cost is competitive at $10.99 to $13.99 per serving, and the featured prices are inclusive of delivery and taxes (of which there are very few applied anyway). This cost makes them quite similar to their major competitors, although Chefs Plate's prices are from $8.99 to $9.99. Those customers who place their first order via MealKitsCanada up to $120 off (spread across the first four orders).
Recipes per week
Number of people
2-Person Meals
Family Plan
Price per serving
$13.99
$13.49
$12.99
$12.29
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
$12.99
$11.59
$10.99
$10.79
n/a
n/a
n/a
Shipping
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
n/a
n/a
n/a
Weekly Total
$55.96
$80.94
$103.92
$122.90
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
$103.92
$139.08
$175.84
$215.80
n/a
n/a
n/a
The most favoured meals by Fresh Prep
Fresh Prep customers like fresh and hearty menus with an international touch. The 10 most popular Fresh Prep menus of all time are:
We will introduce the three most popular Fresh Prep menus which you can cook and enjoy at home so you can get a feel for how easy or difficult they would be for you to prepare.
Pork Banh Mi & Carrot Fries with Pickled Daikon & Spicy Mayo
This quick and easy recipe is a new take on the Vietnamese classic sandwich.
Ingredients (2 servings): Persian Cucumber, 300 g Sliced Pork, Sriracha, Garlic, Mayonnaise, White Bun, Carrot Stick, Lime, Cilantro, Fish Sauce, White Wine Vinegar, Raw Sugar, Carrot + Daikon
Difficulty level: Easy recipe
Preparation:
- 1. Preheat oven to 250°C. Season carrot sticks and bake until tender and golden.
- 2. Mix pork into a marinade of fish sauce to taste, garlic, half of the sugar, and 1/2 tbsp. oil. Season. Slice cucumber.
- 3. Boil white wine vinegar and sugar. Turn off heat and let vegetables sit in vinegar mixture. Mix mayonnaise with sriracha.
- 4. Toast buns. Cook pork until golden brown. Season with lime juice.
- 5. Add all ingredients to the bun and serve with carrot fries. Enjoy!
Pulled Chicken Fajitas with Chipotle-Pineapple Sauce & Cheddar
This Mexican-inspired meal takes fajitas to the next level and is served in less than 30 minutes.
Ingredients (2 servings): Onion Sliced, Chipotle Pepper in Adobo Sauce, 285 g Chicken Breast, Worcestershire Sauce, Flour Tortillas 6", Aged White Cheddar Cheese, Cilantro, Assorted Mini Bell Peppers, Coconut Sugar, Green Cabbage, Lime Crema, Pineapple-Lime Juice, Spice Blend.
Difficulty level: Easy recipe
Preparation:
- 1. Preheat the oven to 220°C. Slice peppers into 1/4-inch strips. Season chicken breast. Bake peppers and onions.
- 2. Cook chicken in a pan until golden. Then add 1/4 cup water, Worcestershire sauce, coconut sugar, spice blend, pineapple lime juice, and chipotle in adobo. Cook chicken in sauce.
- 3. Season to taste. Shred chicken into small pieces and cook again for 1-2 minutes.
- 4. Warm tortillas in the oven and reheat vegetables.
- 5. Place filling into tortillas and enjoy!
Rare Seared Yellowfin Tuna Focaccia with Curry Mayo, Ambrosia & Cucumber Salad
Enjoy the taste of sustainably sourced Yellowfin Tuna in less than 20 minutes.
Ingredients (2 servings): Mayonnaise, 2 x 115 g Yellowfin Tuna, Garlic, Arugula, Lime, Ambrosia Apple, Red Onion Sliced, Focaccia Sandwich Bun, Persian Cucumber, Cilantro, Cumin Seeds, Curry Powder, Sugar, Red Pepper Flakes, Apple Cider Vinegar.
Difficulty level: Easy recipe
Preparation:
- 1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Spread olive oil and garlic evenly on the focaccia.
- 2. Combine mayonnaise, curry powder, half of the lime zest, and lime juice. Season.
- 3. Slice apple and cucumber. Chop cilantro leaves. Whisk together 2 tbsp. olive oil, sugar and apple cider vinegar, and cumin seeds. Mix in apple, cucumber, and half of both the cilantro and onion. Season.
- 4. Bake focaccia until golden. Drain and season tuna. Sear in a pan for 30–45 seconds per side for rare doneness. Slice.
- 5. Place all ingredients into the focaccia and enjoy!
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Discount code
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Unlike Goodfood, Chefs Plate, and HelloFresh, there is no vegetarian plan available at this time. That doesn’t mean, however, that vegetarians cannot eat Fresh Prep meals. They do offer vegetarian meals and even a couple of vegan meal kits to choose from (if you live in Alberta, Rooted is the best option for vegans). We tallied up the vegetarian and vegan options over a few weeks and took the average: two vegetarian meals for families, and five single-portion meals (two of these are vegan).
In case you were going to try and go the vegan or vegetarian route while using Fresh Prep, your best bet would be to take a look at the menu first — see can see what recipes are available over the coming month to get an idea of whether there's enough variety for you. They do make it easy to skip weeks (as long as you’re using a computer and not a cell phone).
Ingredients
The majority of Fresh Prep ingredients are sourced from local farms, so when you order Fresh Prep meal boxes you also support local farmers. They also create recipes based on produce that's in season, to minimize the impact on the environment. The chicken, turkey, and lamb are certified Halal, but the other meats are not.
| Cooking skills needed | n/a |
|---|---|
| Ingredients sourced from | local purveyors and farms in BC |
| Vegetarian restrictions | Adjust in settings |
| Avoid an ingredient | Adjust in settings |
| Calorie range | Choose by meal |
| Low carb options | Choose by meal |
| Allergy restrictions | Adjust in settings |
Personal Experiences with Fresh Prep
Because one person’s experience and thoughts do not make for a well-rounded Fresh Prep review, we scavenged the web to bring you a smattering of first-person accounts from Fresh Prep customers. These were mostly from Yelp, but also from Reddit and Facebook users.
We have been a customer for 5 months. To date we have been very pleased with all of our meals, super excellent quality, diversity of menu choices, excellent ingredients: local, organic, satisfying portions, fun to prepare. Service has always been timely and I like the online flexibility of changing delivery day or quantities. The delivery staff is courteous. We have always received what we ordered, and there have been no missing ingredients. Really like the occasional partnerships with local products and occasionally added samples: e.g., Cricket’s Chocolate/Cricket Meal bar and Salt Spring Onion and Thyme jam. Their meals have renewed my interest in cooking. It also saves us money eating out and there is no waste.
I tried 3 other meal services before Fresh Prep. This is the one you want. Meals are substantial enough, the recipes are amazing, quality of everything is fantastic. As someone very comfortable in the kitchen, I don’t feel like I’ve sold out using their recipes. I’m continuing to learn. Packaging is also top of class. Zero packaging waste and zero food waste. I called about my delivery once and an actual person answered the phone on the second ring. Very friendly and helpful. I have praised this company to my family and friends. Great local company.
I like this company but have decided to pause my subscription for a while.
The good: they deliver usually on time. The packaging is good and we’ve had no issues with the freshness or quality of the ingredients. The recipes are ok most of the time. The main reason we paused the subscription is that the value is not really there. While the concept is good, I feel that other online stores offer as much or better value (spud.ca). We also found that a lot of their recipes were repetitive. Either they recycle the same recipes or have slightly different variations or use the same kind of ingredients.
Fresh Prep: Terms and the Fine Print
Delivery
| Delivery area | AB, BC |
|---|---|
| Home delivery | Yes |
| Work delivery | Yes |
| Must be present for delivery | No |
| Delivery window | Between Sunday – Wednesday |
| Box stays cold for | 4 hours |
Fresh Prep delivers mostly in the Greater Vancouver area, Victoria, and Alberta. In case you are interested in meal kit delivery in the Eastern part of the country, check out our Cook It review. You can either order delivery to your home, your work, or pick up your Fresh Prep meals at a designated location. In case you order home delivery, you don’t need to be present to receive your package. It can stay on your porch for a few hours since the bags are insulated. Usually, Fresh Prep delivers their meal kits weekly, between Sunday and Wednesday.
The packaging is one of the biggest drawcards we think because Fresh Prep has come up with Zero Waste meal kits. Not all the meals have this option available, but those that do are delivered in reusable plastic containers with compartments containing the ingredients. They don't charge any extra for these meals or even a deposit, you just return the packaging to the driver or leave it in the insulated cool bags when your next delivery is due. Fresh Prep cleans these on a contactless conveyor dishwasher and uses disinfectants recommended by Health Canada so you can be sure they are fully sanitized before being reused.
Flexibility
| Switch between plans | Yes |
|---|---|
| Minimum subscription length | 1 week |
| How to cancel subscription | |
| Extra charge for skipping week | No |
| Weekly deadline to cancel/skip | Wednesday at 11:59PM before your next delivery |
| Auto-renewal | Yes |
| Personalization options | Number of people, Recipes per week |
Fresh Prep terms are pretty flexible if you need to change the number of meals you order, if you need to skip a week, or cancel your subscription entirely. The cut-off day for any changes is Wednesday before midnight.
Fresh Prep: Support and Usability
In case you need to get in touch with Fresh Prep customer support, the best way to contact them is via phone or email. They also have updated Facebook and Instagram pages, so you can contact them on social media as well. However, there is no online chat on their website, and no mobile app is available.Phone
(604) 569-2699Email
[email protected]Online chat
Social media
Downloadable App
Address
188 Victoria Dr, Vancouver, BC V5L 4C3Customer Reviews
To give you an accurate understanding of what past and present Fresh Prep customers are saying about their experience with the company, we’ve thoroughly analyzed reviews on different online consumer rating platforms. We’ve looked at the overall impression the customer had about the company (i.e. positive, negative, or mixed), and singled out the main reasons why the customer decided to leave their review. We also counted all the recipes that Fresh Prep’s customers recommended in their reviews to find out which of their dishes are definitely worth trying.
However, one thing you should keep in mind when reading this article is that most online reviews are left by people who have had either strongly positive or strongly negative experiences. Therefore, while many online reviews tend to be pretty drastic one way or the other, there’s generally a much larger number of customers who were happy or content with their purchase and didn’t feel the need to leave a review or rating. This phenomenon is not limited to meal kits: it occurs in virtually every industry, especially if the product is sold online. To mitigate this bias, we’ve decided to take an in-depth look at all the online feedback and study the factors which customers did or did not like about Fresh Prep’s meal kit service.
Distribution of Fresh Prep reviews compared to industry-wide averages
To get an accurate understanding of where Fresh Prep stands compared to other meal prep companies, we’ve analyzed and compiled information from reviews available online. When the reviewer had a mixed opinion about the company or didn’t have a clearly positive or negative experience, we marked the review as mixed, while reviews left by customers who had an obviously negative or positive experience were counted accordingly. We discovered that the proportion of positive reviews Fresh Prep received online (75%) was higher than the industry average, while the proportion of negative reviews was lower (just 10%). The proportion of mixed reviews was generally in line with the industry average. This shows that Fresh Prep customers are generally happier with their service than customers of other meal prep companies.
Fresh Prep
Industry Average
Positive, %
Negative, %
Mixed, %
Most frequently given reasons for liking or disliking the company
To gain a better understanding of what Fresh Prep customers liked or disliked most about the company, we investigated the reasons why customers left reviews about the company online. People who left negative reviews were unhappy about slow delivery and unresponsive support, although the proportion of reviews that cited these reasons was lower than the industry average. Some reviewers were also unhappy about missing ingredients in their deliveries, but the number of reviews that mentioned this issue was about the same as the industry average. Meanwhile, happy customers noted Fresh Prep’s tasty food and responsive customer support more frequently than customers that reviewed other brands. Many people also praised Fresh Prep’s clear recipes, which is on par with other brands.
Positive
Fresh Prep
Industry Average
tasty food
responsive support
clear recipes
Negative
Fresh Prep
Industry Average
unresponsive support
slow delivery
missing ingredients
The three most popular recipes mentioned in reviews
To determine which Fresh Prep recipes customers loved the most, we tallied up how many times different recipes were mentioned in positive reviews. According to our results, Fresh Prep customers loved their chicken tikka masala, Greek salad, and steak the most. So if you are thinking about trying out Fresh Prep, consider starting with one of these dishes (if it's on the weekly menu, of course).
Frequently Asked Questions:
Is there a delivery fee?
No — at least no additional delivery fee. It is all included in whatever price you see online.
Can I skip a delivery week?
Is there tax?
Is Fresh Prep environmentally friendly?
Is Fresh Prep meat Halal?
What if I’m not home to accept delivery?
Where does Fresh Prep deliver?
Who owns Fresh Prep?
How long does Fresh Prep last?
Where is Fresh Prep from?
Do you get to pick your meals with Fresh Prep?
Our Final Thoughts About Fresh Prep
With over 17,000 customers, Fresh Prep has developed a solid following within British Columbia and Alberta. It's an excellent choice if you want a meal kit company helping the environment. If you live in Vancouver, Victoria, or Alverta and want to eat Fresh Prep meals and compare them to national companies like HelloFresh, then definitely check them out to see how they stack up.
For first-time customers, we have a sweet Fresh Prep discount for you to use. You can save up to $120 (depending on the plan you choose), by getting 75% OFF and FREE delivery! This way you can try Fresh Prep for a very low price so there's no risk attached, and then you could always compare them to HelloFresh and Chefs Plate, to see which service you like the best. We also have incredible savings for those two meal kit companies — up to $200 off each.
In case you are interested to know how Fresh Prep compares to the industry leaders, we have created a Fresh Prep vs HelloFresh and Chefs Plate vs Fresh Prep comparison to help you make your choice. If you have anything to add to our Fresh Prep review, please contact us and send us any firsthand cooking pics!
Updated on May 02, 2024
Company Reputation
Plans and Meals
Delivery and Flexibility
Support and Usability
Select up to five 2-person meals out of 14 recipes each week
Select up to five family-friendly meals out of 14 recipes each week
