Meal kit company HelloFresh has announced plans to open the largest Australian meal kit pick-and-pack facility in Ravenhall, Victoria in July, nicknamed the Tuckerbox.
The 25,500 square metre production and distribution centre represents a continued investment in the HelloFresh customer experience. This will mean quicker deliveries in Victoria and nearby states, as well as reduced delivery miles for suppliers.
The Tuckerbox will offer 350 employment opportunities across pick packers, forklift drivers, quality control and management positions.
The largest of the three HelloFresh warehouses in Australia, the Tuckerbox launch follows the company’s first commitment to reduce CO2 emissions in its production facilities by 60 per cent per dollar revenue by 2022.
The biggest impact to CO2 emissions comes from reducing transport time, but the Tuckerbox has also been designed with sustainability in mind. Environmental features include skylights to maximise natural light, a rainwater harvesting system, 600kW solar panels for both electricity and heating water, as well as motion and daylight sensors to reduce overall energy consumption.
The Tuckerbox will take the meal kit company to the next level and customers will benefit from improved deliveries and menu expansion, meeting changing dietary preferences and meal occasions, HelloFresh Australia CEO Tom Rutledge said.
“The launch of our third and largest Australian chilled production facility marks an impressive milestone for the business and will allow us to better serve our growing customer base,” Rutledge said.
“Ultimately our focus is to continuously improve the product offering to our customers and how we can increase the value, convenience and accessibility of our service. The Tuckerbox, with its size, situation and sophistication, provides a tremendous platform for us to realise these objectives over the years to come.
“We are pleased to be creating new jobs in the local area and expanding on the partnerships we hold with many local suppliers to provide fresh and high-quality ingredients to our customers,” he said.
“As the world’s largest meal kit provider, we also have a responsibility to set a clear precedent and strive towards more sustainable ways of working in our production facilities. We’re proud of the sustainable developments we’ve made in the Tuckerbox.”
Some of the sustainability features of the Tuckerbox warehouse are:
- Soft plastic recycled furniture – all outdoor furniture (picnic tables) are soft plastic, as well as the inside locker room benches
- Soft plastic recycling and organic waste disposal onsite
- 600kW solar panels planned to heat water
- Skylights in the ambient section of the warehouse to maximise natural light
- Rainwater harvesting
- Motion and daylight sensors, to reduce overall energy consumption
- Infrastructure for electric car charging stations
- An ice pack production machine which produces water-based ice packs, avoiding microplastics required for gel-filled cool packs
All vacant roles at the Tuckerbox are posted on the HelloFresh careers page: www.hellofresh.com.au/careers.