Food For Thought: Do You Really Need a Food Subscription Box? Part Two
Reviews by Jenn Kearney (Thrive Market) & Genevieve Kavanaugh (Hungry Root)
In this part two of this series, we are pairing Thrive Market v. Hungry Root reviewed by Daily Origin’s regular contributor Jenn Kearney & Co-Founder Genevieve Kavanaugh.
What is a grocery subscription box?
A grocery subscription is different than ordering your groceries online and having them delivered. By subscribing to one company, you can pay an upfront monthly or yearly subscription for access to consumer goods online. The majority of subscription services will provide a reduced cost for grocery items in exchange for your subscriptions (fee or not).
What companies offer grocery subscription boxes?
While there are (a long list) of companies out there offering specific grocery subscription boxes, and meal prep services, we are going to focus on four companies that provide a full range of groceries.
Both Jenn and Genevieve are sharing facts coming directly from the website of said companies while providing a personal experience of subscribing.
Thrive Marketing (Jenn) versus Hungry Root (Genevieve)
Both services offer food made of real ingredients. Real ingredients you say….. that simply means they source products that are nutritious and made from whole, trusted ingredients and safe for the environment, fairly priced.
What is it best for?
Thrive Market - Thrive Market is great for pantry staples and non-perishables. You can buy baking goods, cleaning products, bath and beauty items, and even wine, meats, and seafood that are delivered chilled.
For the best bang for the buck: stick to your pantry and non-perishable items on there. Your local butcher or mom ‘n pop shop will have better meat deals.
Hungry Root - A great service for those who love taking quizzes to get a customized grocery list. For those who are looking to have a healthier lifestyle and don’t know where to start, this quiz helps you shop based on your dietary needs, preferences, or restrictions.
How does it differ from some of the other food delivery services?
Thrive Market - Unlike a lot of subscription services, you can place orders as often as you want and whenever you want. Some things you can get subscriptions for that are delivered weekly or monthly in either the “Subscribe and Save” option, or are a monthly delivery on their own, like the meat and poultry packages.
There aren’t a ton of perishable options available, which is wildly different than Instacart and the like. Most of the items on Thrive Market are all non-perishables or shelf-stable. I’ve even gotten shelf-stable, room-temperature storage tofu on there...and cold brew, too. I was genuinely surprised that they were both good and I have reordered them!
Hungry Root - This does have an upfront cost. You’re able to see what food they carry on their website. However, you do have to check out based on your “plan” before you can modify your cart. Your cart can be edited to your liking and you can change your plan at any time.
Why use Thrive market as opposed to Imperfect Produce or a regular supermarket delivery service Instacart or Whole Foods/Prime Delivery?
Thrive Market - I wouldn’t say to use it instead of another food shopping experience, but it’s an excellent supplement. I was able to get non-perishables throughout COVID and even when I was sick myself.
They don’t have fresh produce and have extremely limited frozen food availability--think frozen prepared meals only--so this wouldn’t be a replacement. However, for the subscription fee, you definitely save if you’re buying higher-end items from your traditional supermarkets.
I tend to buy the same staples and Thrive does a great job of organizing all my previous purchases for me too (see photo) so I can just click and re-order. They have a Subscribe & Save option as well for items, in case you want the shelf-stable cold brew to be always available in your pantry.
Why use Hungry root as opposed to Misfit Market or a regular supermarket delivery service like Instacart or Whole Foods/Prime Delivery?
Hungry Root - As stated above, this service is extremely helpful for crafting and creating a healthy meal plan. If you are looking to change the way you eat, this service is worth a try. It was built by chefs, food lovers, and personalization experts.
“All Hungryroot food—and all the food we carry—meets our three-point standard. First, it has to be nutritious and made from whole, trusted ingredients. Second, it has to be easy and quick to prepare in (real, hectic) life. Finally, it has to taste damn good.”
Delivery Options
Thrive Market - If your order is under $49.95, you have to pay for shipping (I think it’s $5.95 to ship. However, I’ve never spent less than $50 an order, so I can neither confirm nor deny this). Delivery is normally rapid, right to your doorstep.
Even during COVID, I wasn’t waiting longer than a week. This last purchase took 3 days, from the click of the “Order” button to the enormous box landing on my doorstep. Anything perishable is shipped with cold-insulating accessories in the box.
Hungry Root - Once you finish your quiz, you will come to a personalized plan review. A grocery + recipe plan just for you, including the amount of food you can expect each week. Here you can modify the quantity of recommended plan items. Then you head to check out. After you checkout, you’ll see our grocery and recipe suggestions based on this quiz. You can take our suggestions, or choose everything yourself. Your delivery will come shortly after you place the order.
Quality
Thrive Market - I’m pretty consistently impressed with Thrive. I typically go for some higher-end food items since it’s just my partner and me, so we don’t have as large a grocery bill as, say, a family of four. Think things like organic/low sodium canned beans, low-mercury tuna, Rao’s marinara when I’m in a pinch… Thrive has always been a good option for more affordable products with the same labels as your higher-end grocery stores like Whole Foods.
Thrive also has its own line of private-label products that I’ve been impressed with when trying to stay within our grocery budget.
I can’t speak to the meat, poultry, or seafood purchases, but their ratings have been consistently positive. I tend to try and shop a little more locally for those items.
Hungry Root - We are currently awaiting our first delivery! Details to come…
Overall experience
Thrive Market - Thrive Market does a really nice job of trying to drive the savings point home to the member. You can see (in the photos) that they’re always telling you how much you’ve saved, whether it’s in one purchase or over your membership’s lifetime.
If you leave your cart “abandoned,” as in, you don’t finish your order when you start it, they will sometimes send you an additional 15% off promo code for you to seal the deal and click “order.” It’s a pleasant surprise, but there is no rhyme or reason to them, so I wouldn’t wait to order what you need for your home.
In addition, they will offer you additional “Thrive Cash” for your reviews as well as some products that you purchase. Getting credits into your account is fairly easy and a great way to trim more off your pantry bill.
In terms of packaging for deliveries, you can see (in the photos) they don’t skimp on making sure your products stay intact. I’m always torn on this because it doesn’t feel like the most sustainable grocery shopping experience, but you can see that all the paper wrappings for glass jars are recyclable.
I do have to say from a consumer standpoint that I really like that liquid items are also plastic-wrapped. From an environmental standpoint, this pains me, but it also keeps me from having a trail of almond milk creamer and aquafaba on the floor and throughout my pantry, should something get wrecked.
Hungry Root - It’s a little scary to throw your card down to commit to the grocery for the week without seeing the list. However, since you do have a chance to review it all once you subscribe, it makes the experience feel better.
We have some family members who would really love this service, as we know they want to eat healthier but are having a tough time finding a place to start and/or it’s a challenge to buy groceries for recipes for the week. I believe this is a great service for them and people alike.
Hungry Root’s commitment to their quality of food and the food they choose makes it an even better experience.
Conclusion
Thrive Market - Is there everything you need for your kitchen on Thrive? Not even close. Have they done a really nice job of making a lot of items accessible without a markup? Definitely.
Is it worth $60 a year? I would say yes. There are plenty of ways for you to “make that money back” in shopping savings, whether through promo codes, special sales, or referring friends. Plus, for every membership purchased, they donate one to a person in need, whether that’s someone in a specific profession or folks that are located in a food desert.
If you don’t love it, it’s really easy to cancel your membership. If you don’t save the $60 of your membership in the first year of having it, they’ll refund you. Plus, their customer support has been great to me every time I’ve had a question.
I would recommend giving Thrive a shot as a good supplement to what you’re already buying at a grocery store. Between a butcher, a farmers’ market, and Thrive, you could avoid giving any of your future hard-earned dollars to a store that’s jacked up the price--at your expense.
You can sign up for Thrive and save 25% off your first purchase here.
Hungry root - There is no fee for subscribing, you pay for what you get. You can modify your plan each week if you needed to or skip deliveries. Overall this experience has been pretty cool. I thoroughly enjoy companies that offer quizzes to help set up the right product just for me (and my family).
Until my groceries arrive I won’t be able to comment completely—I do like going to the grocery store but at the same time, the savings is about $50 and I think that’s pretty great to put back in our pockets each month.