According to De Standaard, food is the growth driver of Belgian e-commerce: the food sector has the most impressive growth. Under the pressure of companies such as HelloFresh, traditional retailers begin focusing on home delivery of food and takeaway. For example, the supermarket chain Colruyt, recently invested 27 million euros in Foodbag, the Belgian answer to HelloFresh.

Since the corona crisis and the associated lockdowns, more and more Belgians have started shopping online. Belgians now buy 2.9% of their groceries via the internet and that is three times more than five years ago. Delhaize and Carrefour noticed that there are new customers who order online groceries every month. Delhaize witnessed a 5% increase in home delivery, according to Nieuwsblad.

Meal boxes remain a strong grower within the food market, according to Gondola. In 2021, families spent over a quarter more on meal boxes than in 2020, according to a report by payment specialist Cake. Two players have clearly taken over the market: HelloFresh and Foodbag.

Also according to Gondola, the growing success of meal boxes even has an impact on other expenses. Supermarkets have to give up a significant part of their turnover on an annual basis. Expenditure on butcher shops (-36.8%), groceries (-15%) and fast food (-7%). The share of supermarket spending fell to 62.6% in July 2021 and the share of spending will be as much as 10% lower in December 2021 than in January.