Are Meal Delivery Services Worth It? My Factor 75 Review
Factor 75 is taking the ready-to-eat meal market by storm, providing a fresh and healthy alternative to traditional fat-packed microwave meals. Each meal is hand-crafted by chefs before being packaged up and delivered straight to your door.
Factor 75 was launched in 2013 and it quickly became one of the largest instant meal delivery services in the country. The platform has a big focus on health and nutrition, and the dishes are full of fresh veg and lean meats. Plus, specialist diets are catered for too, like keto, paleo, and vegetarian. The company was acquired by HelloFresh in November 2020, but Factor 75 still operates a very distinct service to its parent organization. It even offers a free consultation with a dietician when you sign up.
What is Factor 75?
Factor 75 offers customers an extensive rotating weekly menu of dishes to choose from. Convenience is king here and meals can be cooked and ready to eat in just a few minutes. Plans are pretty flexible too and you can order between four and 18 meals each week from a range of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, and extras.
Factor 75 Pros & Cons
- Great selection of meals
- Meals are hand-cooked by professional chefs before being dispatched
- Dishes are ready in minutes
- Meals are never frozen and will arrive chilled
- Paleo and keto diets are catered for
- Free from hormones and no GMOs
- Pause or amend your order at any time
- Free shipping
- Interesting range of add-ons
- It’s a little expensive
- Vegan and vegetarian options can be limited
- Calorie counts are high on some dishes
Who is Factor 75 Good For?
Busy people – With meals only taking a few minutes to heat through, you get hours of your time back you would have spent preparing complicated dishes. Plus, you get the added benefit of tasty, fresh food and don’t have to rely on take-out
Flexible schedules – You can mix and match between four and 18 meals each week and amend your order at any time. This means you can use the service to line up with your schedule. Some weeks you might want to prep dinner for the whole family every night, while others you might just need a few lunches. Everything is in your total control
Healthy eaters – For an instant meal service, we’re surprised at just how nutritious these dishes are. Ingredients are organic, you’ll find no GMOs and all of the meats are free from antibiotics. Plus, there are plenty of vitamins and minerals packed into every meal
Specialist dieters – Factor 75 covers a huge range of different diet types, including paleo, keto, gluten-free, low-carb, high-protein, and plant-based. Simply filter the weekly menu to find what suits you best. However, bear in mind the menu may not have enough dishes to cover you for the whole week and you might need to supplement with extras
People that like big portions and hearty meals – It’s rare not to feel full after a Factor 75 meal and each dish is generously portioned
Who Isn’t Factor 75 Good For?
Families on a budget – The price per meal is quite expensive when compared to other delivery services. Prices work on a sliding scale based on how much you buy, and the absolute cheapest meal you’ll find here is $11 per portion. This is comparable to take-out prices and much more expensive than the grocery store
Vegetarians – While some vegetarian meals are available, there isn’t really enough choice in the weekly menu to cover you for the full week. In addition, the variety in dishes is often lacking
Calorie-counters – While the dishes are prepared with fresh ingredients, the service isn’t recommended for people trying to lose weight. Some of the meals can have quite high saturated fat and sugar contents, so you’ll need to plan carefully to make sure you’re not breaking your diet
Home-chefs – With no prep required at all, this service might disappoint those that like to cook meals from scratch when at home
How Factor 75 Works?
Once you’ve decided how many meals you’d like delivered each week, you’ll head over to the menu page to make your choices. You can filter on different diet types, choose from the entire menu, or you can let Factor 75 make the decision for you based on your answers to a health and diet questionnaire.
Pick Your Meals
We Cook Them
Heat, Eat & Enjoy
Factor 75 Website and App
The Factor 75 homepage sets out its ethos, the ordering process, and menu items clearly from the outset. If you’re short on time you can take a quick scan of the menu and check out pricing, and clicking on each dish takes you to a detailed nutritional information page. There are around 20 different meals that will rotate each week, and you can even learn a little about the history of the dish in the information tab.
Apps are available on both Android and iOS and function much in the same way as the desktop counterpart. However, the apps sometimes suffer from timeout issues, and will often auto-select your weekly dishes, meaning you’ll need to go in and manually make adjustments to your order.
Creating an account / Sign-up
Creating an account couldn’t be simpler. Just pop in your email address and your zip code to find out if your area is covered by deliveries and you’ll be on the menu in just a few moments.
Factor 75 Meal Plans and Meal Selection Options
There are five different subscription levels, each simply being the number of meals you decide to have delivered each week. You then have full control over your menu choices and can switch to different plans at any time. What’s more, you can add a huge range of extras to any order too.
4 meals per week – $15 per meal
6 meals per week – $12.83 per meal
8 meals per week – $12.83 per meal
12 meals per week – $11.50 per meal
18 meals per week – $11.00 per meal
Factor 75 Meal Types
There’s quite an impressive range of dishes to be found at Factor 75, and the menu is broken down into nine different categories. Here are just some of what’s on offer from recent menus:
Keto
Tuscan tomato chicken
Keto chorizo chili
Paleo
Italian sausage peperonata
High protein
Pork tenderloin with a cabbage casserole
Salmon with roasted mango salsa
Low-calorie
Stuffed pepper casserole
Low-carb
Taco bowl
Black pepper chicken with potato leek hash
Dairy-free
Peanut Buddha bowl with sweet potatoes
Vegetarian
Caramelized onion and goat’s cheese risotto
Spicy
Peruvian shrimp bowl
Spicy turkey poblano bowl
Plant-based
Indian-style vegetable rice
Choosing Factor 75 Recipes
You have total freedom to mix and match across the nine different categories, or you can ask Factor 75 to auto-select your meals to save time. If the menu doesn’t quite have everything you’re looking for, you can browse the list of add-ons to supplement your delivery.
How Much Does Factor 75 Cost?
Factor 75 operates on a simple sliding scale model. The more food you order, the cheaper your delivery will be. Full costs are detailed below, but most customers pay on average $12.50 per portion. Shipping is always free.
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Servings and Recipes/Week
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Total Cost
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$15.00/serving ($120 total + FREE shipping = $120/week)
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$12.83/serving ($153.96 total + FREE shipping = $153.96/week)
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$12.83/serving ($205.28 total + FREE shipping = $205.28/week)
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$11.50/serving ($276 total + FREE shipping = $276/week)
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$11.00/serving ($396 total + FREE shipping = $396/week)
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Diet Friendliness
You’ll find a respectable range of meals to fit lots of different diets like vegetarian, keto, low-carb, and paleo. However, the range can be hit and miss depending on how many meals are available in that category in a particular week. If you’re sticking to these diets very strictly, there might not be enough variety for you and the service might best be used to supplement your regular grocery shopping.
You should remember that Factor 75 isn’t a weight-loss program. Some of the meals can have quite high saturated fat, sodium, and sugar counts, so you’ll need to take care if you’re counting calories.
Add-Ons
The platform offers an excellent range of delicious add-ons, and you can bundle as many as you like into your weekly order. They include:
Keto shakes
Hearty soups
Keto power packs
Lemon poppy seed truffles
Raspberry vanilla cheesecake
Cold-pressed juice variety packs
Paleo granola
Extra salmon and meat packs
Additional microwave meals
Price varies from item to item and can range between $3 -$15, so take care to watch your bill when you shop as the cost can quickly add up.
Factor 75 Customer Service
As Factor 75 is owned by the much larger HelloFresh, it’s able to leverage off those resources to provide a comprehensive customer service offering. You can call, text or email with any queries, and you’re also encouraged to reach out via social media if you’re looking for a fast response.
In addition, you’ll find an extensive FAQ page to guide you through some of the most common issues you’ll run into, including delivery problems, animal welfare information, and extra information on nutrition.
Factor 75 Cancellation Policy
You can modify or cancel an order at any time, as long as it’s done by 11:59 pm CT the week before your next delivery is due to be shipped. If you miss the deadline you’ll be charged and will receive your box.
Factor 75 Alternatives
If the price at Factor 75 is just a tad too high for you; or you’re looking for a weight-loss program or perhaps want something a bit different, why not check out some of these alternatives?
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Meal Kit
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Price / Serving
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Minimum order
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Meal options
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Nutrisystem
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$9.29
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5 Servings
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4-4
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Butcher Box
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$129
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1 Servings
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1-6
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Bistro MD
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$7.61
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20 Servings
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15-20
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Dinnerly
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$4.69
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6 Servings
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3-6
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Summary
Factor 75 provides one of the most convenient, delicious, and varied menus in the meal delivery business. The service is easy to use, great for those with busy lifestyles, and provides a solid selection of fresh vegetables and lean meats and some much-needed nutrition in our diets.
However, as each meal is hand-made by chefs you can expect to pay something of a premium for this service. Plus, the menu items can be somewhat limited for those on strict diets and you may find you have to mix and match between different meal kits to get everything you need.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Can I Skip Factor 75 Deliveries?
Yes, you can choose to skip your deliveries for up to four weeks at a time.
Why Do Some Meals Have Such High Fat Contents?
In many cases, Factor 75’s high-fat meals are designed to cater specifically to those on keto diets, and you might find 70% of the calories come from fats. In other meals, you’ll find around 35% comes from ‘good’ fats, like monounsaturated. Research has shown this level of fat can aid a good night’s rest, improve mood, and is good for the skin.
Can I Freeze My Meals?
Yes, you don’t need to be in a hurry to rush through your meals and the vast majority of them are suitable for freezing. The only meals you can’t freeze are fresh salads.
How Do I Prepare My Factor 75 Meals?
You can heat your meals by using either a microwave or your oven. Instructions for both methods are available on the packaging.
Are there Any Extra Benefits to a Factor 75 Subscription?
Yes, customer loyalty is rewarded through the ‘Factor Freebies’ program. Once you hit certain milestones you’ll be offered bonus meals up to the value of $60. You can use these for yourself or share them with a friend or family member.
