I'll admit - I wasted three months thinking Holifresh and food cost apps were battling each other for my restaurant budget. Turns out they're solving totally different headaches. One fixes your supply chain, the other saves your margins.
What does Holifresh do?
Holifresh connects your restaurant directly with local suppliers of vegetables, fruit, meat and fish through a digital marketplace. It cuts out the middleman and their markup, giving you a straight line to fresh ingredients.
💡 Example Holifresh workflow:
- Order vegetables via the app from a local grower
- Supplier confirms availability
- Delivery the next day to your restaurant
- Invoice processed digitally
Holifresh strengths:
- Direct contact with local suppliers
- Fresh products, often organic
- Digital ordering process
- Transparent pricing
What does a food cost calculator do?
Food cost calculators work as your mobile assistant for calculating dish costs, HACCP registration and recipe standardization. They eliminate the guesswork that destroys restaurant margins.
💡 Example workflow:
- Enter recipe with exact quantities
- App automatically calculates cost price per portion
- See your food cost percentage instantly
- Register HACCP temperatures on mobile
Key strengths:
- Automatic food cost calculations
- Mobile HACCP registration
- Recipe management with cost prices
- Allergen overviews
The key differences
⚠️ Note:
These aren't competing systems. They solve different problems and work great alongside each other.
Holifresh focus: Streamline purchasing
- Find better suppliers
- Order fresh products directly
- Digitalize the ordering process
- Support local sourcing
Food cost app focus: Master margins
- Calculate cost price per dish
- Monitor food cost percentage
- Register HACCP tasks
- Standardize recipes
Which tool fits your needs?
Pick Holifresh if:
- You're hunting for better suppliers for fresh products
- Local sourcing matters to your concept
- You want to digitalize the ordering process
- You spend hours calling suppliers
Pick a food cost calculator if:
- You don't know what your dishes actually cost
- Your food cost runs above 35%
- HACCP registration eats up time
- Your chef keeps recipes in his head
💡 Combination example:
From years of working in professional kitchens, I've seen many restaurants use both systems:
- Holifresh to order fresh vegetables
- Food cost app to calculate what each dish costs
- Together: better purchasing + control over margins
Price and accessibility
Holifresh: Free platform, suppliers pay commission. But there are minimum order values per supplier.
Food cost apps: Monthly subscription from €24.99. No minimum orders, includes 3 days free trial.
Both offer mobile apps but serve different needs within hospitality operations.
Compare yourself?
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Start free trial →How do you determine which system you need?
Analyze your biggest challenge
Are you losing money because you don't know what dishes cost? Then cost price calculation is a priority. Are you losing time calling suppliers and searching for fresh products? Then purchasing optimization is more important.
Check your current food cost
Calculate the food cost of your 5 best-selling dishes. Coming in above 35%? Then cost control takes priority over purchasing optimization.
Test both systems
Holifresh is free to try by placing an order. KitchenNmbrs offers a 3-day free trial. Test both to feel which one adds the most value to your daily routine.
✨ Pro tip
If your food costs hit 38%+ and you can't explain why, test a food cost calculator for exactly 14 days. You'll discover where your profits vanish.
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Frequently asked questions
Can Holifresh and food cost apps be used together?
Absolutely. They complement each other perfectly: Holifresh handles better purchasing while food cost apps manage cost control. Many restaurants run both systems simultaneously.
Which system delivers bigger savings?
Depends on your biggest weakness. Holifresh can slash purchasing costs through better supplier relationships. Food cost apps prevent profit leaks by ensuring your menu prices actually cover costs.
Is Holifresh truly free?
For restaurants, yes - suppliers pay the commission. However, most suppliers enforce minimum order values, so you can't order tiny quantities whenever you want.
Do food cost apps replace ordering systems like Holifresh?
Not at all - they're different tools entirely. Food cost apps calculate what dishes cost and track margins, but you still need ordering platforms for actual purchasing. Think of them as complementary, not competing systems.
📚 Sources consulted
- EU Verordening 852/2004 — Levensmiddelenhygiëne (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 853/2004 — Hygiënevoorschriften voor levensmiddelen van dierlijke oorsprong (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 1169/2011 — Voedselinformatie aan consumenten (2011) — Official source
- NVWA — Hygiënecode voor de horeca (2024) — Official source
- NVWA — Allergenen in voedsel (2024) — Official source
- Codex Alimentarius — International Food Standards (2024) — Official source
- FSA — Safer food, better business (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- BVL — Lebensmittelhygiene (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- Warenwetbesluit Bereiding en behandeling van levensmiddelen (2024) — Official source
- WHO — Foodborne diseases estimates (2024) — Official source
Food Standards Agency (FSA) — https://www.food.gov.uk
The HACCP standards shown in this application are for informational purposes only. KitchenNmbrs does not guarantee that displayed values are current or complete. Always consult the FSA or your local authority for the latest regulations.
Written by
Jeffrey Smit
Founder & CEO of KitchenNmbrs
Jeffrey Smit built KitchenNmbrs from 8 years of hands-on experience as kitchen manager at 1NUL8 Group in Rotterdam. His mission: give every restaurant owner control over food cost.
Compare for yourself — KitchenNmbrs vs. the rest
There are multiple food cost tools on the market. KitchenNmbrs stands out through simplicity, speed, and a complete HACCP package included. Test it free for 14 days and judge for yourself.
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