HelloFresh Expands Chilled Capacity Fivefold with Locus

HelloFresh just unlocked five times more cold storage capacity.

Locus Robotics is powering HelloFresh’s push into a broader cold fulfillment lineup with a cold-storage hardware modification developed specifically for the meal kit company. The upgrade transfers existing operations from handling around 100 SKUs to managing 500 SKUs, a fivefold leap that opens room for greater meal variety and new revenue opportunities across the HelloFresh brand portfolio, including Factor. The deployment centers on Locus’ autonomous mobile robots working in concert with tailored cold-chain hardware to navigate a chilled environment, pick items, and replenish shelves with minimal human travel. The project is designed to slot into HelloFresh’s current warehouse logic rather than require a complete system rebuild.

Deployment data shows the arrangement can handle the higher SKU variety without sacrificing throughput or order speed, a critical test for a business that must keep tight cold-chain temperatures while maintaining accuracy. The case study reports that the fivefold jump in SKUs is paired with ongoing measurements of cycle times and overall fulfillment throughput as HelloFresh scales the solution across facilities. In practice, the change means HelloFresh can offer more diverse meals and add new revenue streams across its portfolio, with Factor expected to benefit from faster access to a wider range of ingredients and meal configurations.

From a operations perspective, the upgrade is a reminder that automation in cold environments hinges on the synergy between robotics, hardware customization, and software integration. Locus’ AMRs must navigate refrigerated aisles, interface with the warehouse management system, and coordinate with static machinery that regulates temperature and cold storage access. For HelloFresh, the payoff is not just more SKUs, but a more resilient throughput model that can absorb seasonal demand swings and new product launches without proportionally expanding headcount.

ROI remains a core lens for plant managers and CFOs evaluating automation investments. The fivefold SKU expansion carries clear revenue implications, especially as HelloFresh diversifies its brand mix. At the same time, CFOs will want to see how much labor can be reallocated away from cold-storage retrieval, replenishment, and batch picking, and how that translates into operating margins. The deployment also highlights energy and maintenance considerations. Refrigerated environments place additional load on robot batteries, and the extended wear on hardware in cold temperatures requires disciplined preventive maintenance to avoid unscheduled downtime. Deployment data shows how the system remains robust under these conditions, but operators should expect a careful calibration phase during rollout and early-life monitoring to optimize battery life and charging cycles.

As with any automation push, integration requirements matter as much as the robots themselves. HelloFresh must ensure seamless data exchange between Locus’ control software and its WMS, plus real-time visibility for inventory in a multi-temperature facility. The hardware modification supporting chilled storage needs ongoing validation to keep temperatures within spec while maintaining pick accuracy. The collaboration also demonstrates how automation can augment rather than replace skilled trades. In practice, automation shifts some tasks away from linemen and packers toward system monitoring, robot maintenance, and line-side support, with technicians and engineers ensuring that the robotic layer remains calibrated to the realities of a cold kitchen and a busy warehouse floor.

What’s next is watching how the fivefold SKU expansion scales across more HelloFresh cold sites and how the company quantifies efficiency gains over a full year of operation. Expect deeper data on cycle times and throughput as HelloFresh refines routing, slotting, and replenishment logic, and as energy use is rolling into the balance sheet alongside labor savings. The HelloFresh-Locus program offers a concrete, data-driven glimpse into how a large meal kit operator can expand product variety in a temperature-controlled environment while maintaining the rigor of cold-chain fulfillment.