Recipe box company, HelloFresh, is set to open a new distribution centre at Derby’s SmartParc SEGRO this Spring, creating 450 new operation, distribution, and management jobs.
The new distribution centre, named “The Orchard” by current HelloFresh colleagues, will be located at SmartParc SEGRO Spondon, a high-tech food manufacturing and distribution campus, near Spondon station.
The Orchard is the third distribution centre that the Berlin-based company has opened in the UK, in response to the ongoing demand for their meal kits. The company now has 7 million active customers globally, and the opening of The Orchard will play a key role in allowing the business to continue growing and expanding its offering to UK customers.
In line with HelloFresh’s achievement of becoming the world’s first carbon-neutral meal kit company, all carbon emissions from production and distribution will be offset. To prevent food waste, HelloFresh plans to set up a partnership with a local Food Bank which will distribute unsold but still edible food to communities in need. In 2021 HelloFresh UK donated over 1.9 million meals to The Felix Project and local food banks.
Jackie Wild, SmartParc SEGRO Derby, SmartParc founder and Chief Executive, said: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome HelloFresh as our first anchor client in this ground-breaking new SmartParc development. They share our ambition to see food businesses operate in a more sustainable way, and also to build close links with the Derby community.
“We look forward to developing our partnership with them over the next few years, and to delivering all the commercial, operational and environmental benefits that SmartParc is uniquely able to provide.”
Councillor Chris Poulter, leader of Derby City Council, said: “This really is very exciting news for Derby. HelloFresh is a huge name, and choosing our city as their new home is testament to our strong reputation for innovation and manufacturing – Derby has a lot to offer!
“The Council has been working with the team at SmartParc for some time now, and it’s really exciting to see those efforts come to fruition. Welcoming HelloFresh will bring good quality, sustainable jobs to the city, which ultimately means income and opportunity for our people and their families.
“I look forward to welcoming HelloFresh to Derby!”
Paul Simpson, Chief Executive of Derby City Council, added: “I’m delighted we’ve been able to support this move through our work with SmartParc. The Council has already allocated £5.5 million towards the project and was successful in securing £12 million of D2N2 funding, to help with the reclamation of a major brownfield site in the city.
“HelloFresh is just the kind of organisation we want to attract to Derby, with sustainability and social value at the heart of their ethos, which is brilliant to see. Not only are these attributes a key strand of our Council Plan, it’s something that we should all strive towards as businesses and individuals, to ensure a more sustainable future.”
