Gousto has declared itself to be in the ‘best shape ever’ as it posted a record EBITDA and massively improved operating losses after cutting costs and expanding its offering.
Revenues in 2024 nudged £3m higher to £312m, after creeping up by 1% in the previous year, as the recipe box operator shifted focus to the bottom line.
Gousto said its financial goals were set to match “the challenging economic conditions which pervaded throughout 2024, focusing on profit and cash generation”.
“These goals have been achieved in full through a singular focus on giving the customer more of what they want, in terms of choice, convenience and health,” the business added.
An improved proposition delivered a second consecutive year of profitability, with record adjusted EBITDA of £42m, up 64% year on year. The rise was built on “ever improving operational efficiency and customer satisfaction” and tight cost control that boosted gross margins to record high of 55% and led to a double-digit EBITDA margin of 13.5%, up from 8.3% in 2023.
Operating losses also shortened significantly from £53.2m in 2023 to £2.9m last year, while pre-tax losses moved from £76m to £20m. Gousto had previously been hit by big one-off writedowns as it closed factories and distribution warehouses.
“Our investment in technology and data science is the great unlock, enabling us to meet customers’ growing demands for healthy, convenient meals through unrivalled recipe choice, alongside a financially strong, growing business with a double-digit profit margin,” said CEO and founder Timo Boldt.
Gousto also generated positive free cashflow for the first time in 2024 despite investing in two new territories.
In July, Gousto expanded into Northern Ireland and is already the second-largest operator in the region, with a market share in excess of 40%. It followed the move with a launch into the Republic of Ireland in late February this year, In the offering an initial 150 recipes per month.
Having returned to underlying profitability, Gousto is now shifting back to growth as it seeks to compete directly with the supermarkets and takeaways for the broader dinner market.
In the UK, Gousto said it now offered more than four times the recipe choice of its nearest direct competitor, having expanded the offering during 2024 from 80 recipes per week to 200. This is in addition to offering more customisation options to upgrade and swap out ingredients.
More choice had enabled a large increase in the number of healthy recipes on the weekly menu, resulting in a 60% year-on-year rise in orders of healthy meals, Gousto added.
Earlier this year, the company kicked off a trial of next-day delivery as it doubled-down on convenience and doubled its menu from 250 monthly recipes to 500.
Gousto said trading in the fourth quarter of 2024 had experienced a “material uptick in growth”, which had continued into 2025.
For the current financial year, Gousto is targeting revenue growth of between 5% and 10%, alongside further improvements in EBITDA and free cashflow. After five months of trading Gousto, was on track to meet these targets, the company said.
“2025 has started well,” Boldt added. “Our customer focus is paying off: sales are increasing, and our ‘share of stomach’ is growing well.
“However, our goal is not to be just the largest recipe kit provider but to fundamentally reshape the mainstream dinner market. The goal is huge, and we will win share of the evening meal market through a relentless focus on the customer and continued improvements to the drivers of choice, convenience and health.”
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