My name is Fabian Siegel, and I am the CEO & Founder of Dinnerly. I wanted to reach out to you regarding the outbreak of COVID-19 coronavirus and reassure you that the safety of our customers, our team and our community is, and always has been, a top priority.

We are closely monitoring the news as it develops and are dedicated to upholding our strict safety standards that ensure the health and well being of our Dinnerly community.

Since last week, we have experienced a surge in demand. Because of this, we are working hard to anticipate challenges and prepare plans to ensure that you continue to receive your box each week. Below are some of the steps we’re taking to minimize potential issues.

Adjusted Delivery Timelines

To accommodate every member of our community, we may need to adjust your delivery day. Rest assured, however, that we will always communicate this to you in advance.

To ensure a sustainable and reliable food supply chain, we will reduce the time you have to edit upcoming orders by one day. This will be visible and updated in your account for your next week’s deliveries.

Unanticipated Delays

While we always prepare backup plans, there are certain things—particularly right now—that we can’t control. Unanticipated delays are, unfortunately, one of them. We are in constant contact with our shipping partners and are working with them to identify possible issues in real time and prevent delays where possible.

As you know, we pack our boxes with extra ice and carefully insulate perishables. We do this so that our deliveries can withstand minor delays and remain chilled while in transit. If your box is delayed, please check that your chilled products are still cool and that ice within the cool pack is at least partially frozen.

Ingredient Substitutions

You’ve likely seen the news showing supermarket shelves depleted of inventory. This is not the case for us, thankfully.

There are, however, some items that are not as readily available as they were just two weeks ago. As a result, we may need to slightly alter the ingredients of a few recipes. We are taking steps to provide appropriate substitutions. If and when this is necessary, our customer care team will inform you of changes in advance so that you can continue to enjoy the quality cooking experience you’ve come to expect from us.

Customer Care Responses

Due to a high volume of calls, some of our wait times are longer than normal. Our customer care representatives are doing their best to respond to questions as quickly as possible, but to offset these longer wait times, we kindly ask that you reserve phone calls for urgent matters. For general questions and feedback, please reach out by email or use the chatbot available on our website.

As COVID-19 coronavirus changes the way all of us organize our lives, I feel a responsibility to check in and connect with you and our Marley Spoon community. That’s why you can expect that I will keep you informed of any updates as we navigate these unusual circumstances together.

I’d also like to reiterate that the health and safety of our food, staff, and community has always been—and will always be—our top priority.

Thank you for your patience and trust in us.

Fabian Siegel, Founder & CEO

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Food Safety

Being a food manufacturing business, Dinnerly follows strict Food Safety and Quality Assurance procedures at all times to ensure customers are always receiving fresh and safe ingredients. This includes inspections of all incoming ingredients and not allowing staff or visiting guests to enter any of our facilities if they show any signs of illness.

Will the ingredients and produce in my box remain safe?

There is no current evidence that the COVID-19 is transferable by food, however, our internal task force is staying up to date with all new research and medical updates as they become available. As always, please continue to practice everyday kitchen hygiene when preparing food, including washing your hands thoroughly before working with raw ingredients and washing any vegetables before cooking with them.

Throughout the manufacturing and delivery process, all ingredients are kept in cold environments like our chilled warehouse and cold trucks. This is to ensure ingredients stay fresh and cool from the moment they are harvested until they reach our customers.

We have Food Safety and Quality Assurance experts on-site at our facilities and are reinforcing our stringent sanitation and hygiene procedures. As part of these procedures, we adhere to Good Manufacturing Practices (the legal protocols food manufacturers and sellers must comply with to be certified by food regulators) and have sealed non-essential entrances and exits at our facilities.

Demand

Will there be delivery service interruptions?

While we can’t predict what will happen in the coming weeks, we have made plans to safeguard against service disruptions. We are stocking our shelves with ingredients from vetted and approved suppliers, and we are taking steps to provide appropriate ingredient substitutions if and when necessary. This will enable us to reliably deliver meals to customers and ensure they still have access to fresh food and healthy meals.

We are striving to have deliveries to our customers at their preferred time/date, but we please ask customers to be patient, as we may have to move deliveries based on high demand. We have opened up extra production shifts and delivery windows to ensure the boxes are delivered as fresh as always.

What happens if Dinnerly run out of an ingredient/produce?

Our business model allows us to adjust our menus quickly to any changes that may affect the supply of fresh ingredients. Our menu changes every week to match the season, so we’re also able to react to produce availability.

If there are any last minute ingredient substitutions that do occur, then we will let you know through email, with new cooking instructions sent by our Culinary Team, and don’t worry any substitution won’t impact the deliciousness of the meal.

What are you doing at your packing facility to mitigate COVOID-19?

Recently, we have increased measures to prohibit entry to our facilities for team members or visitors that may have been in contact with infected persons, albeit not showing any symptoms. In addition, we clearly communicate to team members and visitors about how to protect themselves and their environments against contracting or further spreading the virus.

We have an internal task force monitoring the coronavirus situation to ensure our policies are being strictly followed and to appropriately adapt these policies as the current situation evolves.

Delivery Safety

Has Dinnerly given delivery drivers special instructions on hygiene and delivery protocol?

Our deliveries are provided through third party companies, however we are working closely with our delivery partners to ensure drivers are taking all appropriate steps to ensure they are protecting themselves and our customers.

What happens when drivers visit a home that is in self-isolation? As this may pose a risk to them.

Customers are able to set special instructions for their delivery so the driver has clear instructions on where to safely leave the box if the customer isn’t home or available for any reason. Often customers and drivers won’t physically interact, and customers retrieve their box when it is convenient.

Receiving fresh groceries at home is as much about staying healthy as it is about saving time. All the ingredients customers receive from us come from a controlled environment in our fulfilment centres. We are working closely with our delivery partners to ensure these ingredients move from packing to shipping quickly and ensuring they arrive safe, sealed and delivered directly to customers’ doors.

The World Health Organisation has said it is highly unlikely that the virus will persist on a surface after being moved, travelling and being exposed to different conditions and temperatures.