My Opinion on RUTABAGO: The Truth About These Ready-Made Organic Meals

I have been purchasing organic and seasonal products for my meals for years. However, I sometimes struggle with ideas to discover new recipes.

When I discovered Rutabago, I immediately wanted to give it a go! The recipes looked delicious, and it saved me time. Here’s my verdict after several orders!

What is a Rutabaga?

👍 I loved it

• The practical side of meal boxes,
• The ability to eat organic easily,
• Discovering new flavours,
• Easy-to-follow recipes that are simple to prepare,
• The freedom to take breaks whenever you want,
• The quality of the delivery,
• Quick meals that allow you to enjoy organic food without any hassle at work during lunch!

❌ Areas for Improvement

• The rather high price,
• No option for solo travellers.

Source: rutabago.com

How does Rutabago work?

Rutabago is a meal kit: this means that you receive all the ingredients and recipes to cook the meals you have chosen delivered straight to your home. This saves you the hassle of grocery shopping and the effort of planning meals. It also helps to reduce waste, as you only receive the exact quantities needed to prepare your dishes.

Unlike its competitors such as HelloFresh, Rutabago is a 100% organic box. You will receive only products that are sourced from organic farming.

Source: Rutabago.com

What meal plans does Rutabago offer?

Rutabago offers omnivorous menus, as well as options such as:

• Non-meat (therefore including fish),
• Vegetarian (without meat or fish),
• Vegan (excluding all animal products).

👉 You can mix several diets within a single order. This is very convenient if you're trying to reduce your meat consumption without necessarily being vegetarian.

Source: Rutabago.com

How to Choose Your Menus?

Each week, Rutabago offers you a selection of recipes to cook. For each recipe, you will find the following information:

• The type of diet in question (meat, fish, vegan, vegetarian...),
• The preparation time (rarely more than 30 minutes).

Rutabaga recipes to cook for the week of 28th November

Source: Rutabago.com

When placing your order, you can select the meals that appeal to you the most so that you can receive the ingredients to cook them at home, along with the instructions for preparation.

What are the bionus offered by Rutabago?

With each order, you have the option to add additional products, known as "Bionus". This includes a breakfast, as well as a seasonal fruit basket.

If you're planning to grab a quick lunch, you can also order express meals that can be heated in the microwave in just three minutes.

Source: Rutabago.com

Is there a commitment with Rutabago?

Rutabago is commitment-free. This means you have the option to pause your subscription or cancel it entirely whenever you wish, and it's all very straightforward.

👉 To ensure you do not receive your organic cooking box the following week, you must cancel your subscription or pause it before the previous Wednesday at 23:59. You can do this directly from your customer account on the website!

Where does Rutabaga deliver?

The company sends its cooking baskets across mainland France, excluding Corsica. Certain areas can enjoy a two-hour delivery window from Tuesday to Saturday. This includes:

• Paris and the surrounding departments (92, 93, 94, 77, 78, 91, 95),
• Nice,
• Marseille,
• Toulouse,
• Bordeaux,
• Montpellier,
• Rennes,
• Grenoble,
• Nantes,
• Lille,
• Strasbourg,
• Lyon,
• and Toulon.

The remaining destinations have a 5-hour time slot, meaning deliveries are made between 8 am and 1 pm from Wednesday to Saturday.

How does delivery work with Rutabago?

Delivery is carried out via a specialised carrier to maintain the cold chain. You can choose to have your order delivered directly to your home at a time that suits you, or to your workplace if that’s more convenient for you.

Source: Rutabago.com

👉 If you missed your delivery, you can contact Rutabago via email at bonjour@rutabago.com or by phone on 01 75 85 85 06 (standard rate call) from Monday to Friday between 10 am and 12 pm and 2 pm and 5 pm.

🏪 It is also possible to collect your parcel from a collection point.

What Does a Rutabaga Parcel Look Like?

When you receive your Rutabago box, it arrives as a cardboard parcel, in which all the ingredients for your meals for the week are carefully packaged.

In each box, you will find:

• a fresh pack, which contains all the items to be kept in the fridge,
• a grocery pack, which includes the dry ingredients for meals (pasta, cereals, spices...),
• the recipes to guide you in cooking.

👉 All the ingredients are accurately measured so that you only receive the amounts you need.

🥕 Vegetables and fruits are neither peeled nor chopped, to help maintain their freshness and extend their shelf life.

Source: YouTube.com - Rutabago Channel

5 Things to Know Before Ordering Rutabaga

What I appreciated about Rutabago is particularly the brand's commitment to healthy, organic food sourced from local suppliers. Here are five key points to know about the ethics of this brand so you can order with confidence!

"Manifesto for Eating Well" by Rutabago

Source: YouTube.com - Rutabago Channel

Seasonal Menus

The recipes offered by Rutabago reflect the natural rhythm of the seasons: no more strawberries in November or tomatoes in February! Instead, you will rediscover, like I did, the joy of enjoying pumpkin soup in autumn or tasting the first fruits of spring.

🍎 Fruits and vegetables are harvested at their peak ripeness. They are not artificially ripened, so they retain all their nutritional value when you enjoy them!

The dishes are approved by nutritionists

Eating organic is important, of course, but maintaining a balanced diet is just as essential! To achieve this, Rutabago has its recipes validated by nutritionists to ensure they contain all the essential nutrients for good health.

Source: Rutabago.com

Rutabago Supports Local Producers and Short Supply Chains

Just like 100% organic products, buying locally helps to enhance the economy and the quality of life for producers. Therefore, Rutabago is committed to sourcing as much as possible from local producers.

Source: Rutabago.com

🛫 The food delivered in your recipe box does not travel by air.

🌞 Furthermore, they are not grown in heated greenhouses, even in organic farming.

🚚 Deliveries are made using 100% electric vehicles, or, alternatively, Rutabago is committed to offsetting 100% of the carbon emissions from the delivery.

The company is committed to reducing packaging

The products we receive in the Rutabago boxes are packaged as much as possible with recyclable materials, such as Kraft paper.

Currently, Rutabago is conducting research to create a deposit system that would eliminate packaging. Products would be packed in returnable containers, which would then be sent back to Rutabago.

Being a Commander at Rutabago means showing solidarity

Rutabago is a certified ESUS company: this means it is a socially responsible enterprise. In fact, the company donates 5% of its products to community shops and promotes the social and solidarity economy.

Source: Rutabago.com

What is the price of Rutabaga?

The price of Rutabaga depends on the quantity ordered: the minimum is £4.95 per plate.

Here is a brief summary table of meal prices at Rutabago, considering that there are no meat or fish recipes:

🐟 If you want meat or fish, all you need to do is add:

• approximately £1 per serving for 4 people,
• approximately £2 for 2 and 3 people.

Why this price? 💰

When I ordered from Rutabago for the first time, I was a bit surprised by the prices, which are slightly higher than those of non-organic competitors.

However, Rutabago is transparent about the distribution of its fees and ensures that it compensates producers and its collaborators fairly. This comes at a cost, which is outlined in the graph below:

Source: Rutabago.com

Are there any delivery charges with Rutabago? 🚚

There are no additional shipping charges, as these are included in the base price of your meal kit. 😊

Can I give an organic Rutabaga basket as a gift? 🎁

Good news: Rutabago offers a gift card that you can give to your loved ones to introduce them to this organic meal box cooking system. What a unique gift idea! 😊

How to give a Rutabago gift card?

It's very simple: just visit the Rutabago website and click on the menu option "Gift Card", then press the orange button "Give a Gift Card" on the page that appears.

Source: Rutabago.com

You will then have the option to choose the amount for your gift card from the following options:

• £68 (3 recipes for 2 people),
• £136,
• £204,
• or £272.

💬 You can then add a little message that will be associated with the gift to personalise it.

Next, you simply need to create an account or log in, and then proceed to payment. The gift card will be sent to you via email immediately, and will be valid for one year. 😊

Who should you gift a Rutabago cooking box to?

Rutabago is a great gift idea for everyone. For instance, you might consider giving this gift card:

• To a student struggling with their budget,
• To exhausted young parents needing a break,
• To a couple or a family,
• To your flatmates!

Source: Rutabago.com

What do customers think of Rutabago?

Checking online reviews gives you a general idea of a brand's reliability. To save you time, I've already done this and I'll summarise what I've found here.

About Trustpilot

Rutabago encourages its customers to leave a review on the independent platform Trustpilot, whether they are satisfied or not. The feedback has been largely positive, as currently there are 200 reviews posted on the site, yielding an average rating of 4.5 out of 5. More than 70% of the reviews are rated 5 stars, compared to only 2% receiving 1 and 2 stars.

Source: trustpilot.com

Let’s take a closer look at the details of these assessments:

• The quality of the box,
• The careful arrangement of the products in the box (except in rare cases of mishaps: in such instances, please contact customer service),
• The time and energy savings provided by this box,
• The balance and good taste of the prepared meals,
• The commitments made by the brand,
• The opportunity to learn to cook with new spices.
• The availability of customer service.

Positive reviews left by Rutabago customers on Trustpilot

❌ They enjoyed it less

• The price may be a bit steep for some,
• The plastic packaging that sometimes appears in the parcels is somewhat contrary to the brand's ethics.

Mixed customer reviews about Rutabago posted on Trustpilot

On Google

You can also find nearly a hundred reviews about Rutabago on Google Maps by searching for the company's name. The average rating is currently 4.4 out of 5, which is quite consistent with what we've seen on Trustpilot.

Source: google.co.uk

Customers are generally delighted with their experience with Rutabago. During the Christmas period, there were some extra gifts included in the boxes (vegan truffles, for example), which were very well received.

The simplicity of the recipes and the opportunity to discover new flavours are real benefits that Rutabago brings to daily life. This ensures that you always have meal ideas and alleviates the hassle of grocery shopping.

Some customers have encountered some delivery issues due to the courier, but the customer service team responds quickly to feedback to reschedule deliveries. 😊

Rutabaga dish made by a customer and shared as an illustration of their Google review

Source: Google.com

Rutabaga on Social Media

Want to keep up with the latest news from Rutabago and discover plenty of cooking and health tips? Just like me, you can now follow the team on the following social media platforms:

• Facebook,
• Instagram,
• Twitter.

👉 Discover recipes from the Rutabago community by following #rutabago on these platforms!

You can also explore some reports on Rutabago on the brand's YouTube channel. Do take a look if you would like to find out more information!

Rutabaga, From Fork to Plate

Source: YouTube.com

Is Rutabago a Reliable Company?

Rutabago is part of the French company Les Commis, which is based in Gennevilliers. This company has been operating since 2012 and specialises in the production of food and beverage products.

The Rutabaga project was established in 2016 by Matthieu, Pierre, and Younès, three entrepreneurs with the aim of making cooking easy for everyone. Their goal was to provide not only recipes but, more importantly, good eating, which means quality products. This is what inspired the creation of this 100% organic box!

Source: Rutabago's LinkedIn Profile

Today, Rutabago is a strong company that has even established a sustainable partnership with Biocoop since 2019, aiming to make organic products more accessible and provide simple, sustainable solutions for better consumption.

The company makes communication with its customers easy by providing a telephone customer service available from Monday to Friday, as well as a chat service. The Rutabago team is also easily reachable via email and takes the time to respond to reviews left on Google and Trustpilot.

Source: Rutabago.com

✅ Rutabago is a French company that has been in operation for several years. It is a serious and reliable business from which you can place orders without hesitation.

My verdict on Rutabago ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Since discovering Rutabago, I've often found myself placing orders, especially during particularly busy weeks, to save time. Here’s a brief summary of my experience.

Was it easy to order from Rutabago?

The website is well designed, especially for first-time customers. You can specify your dietary preferences right away to receive suggestions for dishes that are likely to appeal to you.

Additionally, I found the recipe photos to be really appealing. They inspire you and give an immediate idea of the preparation time.

Source: Instagram (@amandinecooking, @addict_healthylife)

For the delivery, I found it simple to select a time slot. As I don't live in a large city, I have to choose a half-day window. I prefer Saturday morning, as I need to be at home to put away the fresh produce.

How was the Rutabago delivery experience?

My deliveries have always arrived on time. I appreciate that all the fresh products are packed together in a separate bag. This saves time and ensures that the cold chain is not broken.

The products I received were overall well packaged and in good condition. Some use-by dates were occasionally a bit short, but this was never an issue as the meals are meant to be cooked within the week.

Source: Instagram (@grange_eliane, @etiquettable)

Are ready meals any good?

Yes! That's actually why I choose Rutabago every time I order prepared meals. The recipes are balanced and the dishes you receive are generous and delicious.

Thanks to the spices included in the parcels, we discover new and unique flavours each time. In fact, I often apply tips I've learned from Rutabago dishes to my everyday cooking.

Is this cooking box worth it?

I find the Rutabago box really interesting if you're looking to cook new dishes or if you want to save time on your everyday shopping. It's also quite handy if you have guests and want to prepare an original meal without too much hassle.

However, I find these meals a bit expensive to order every day throughout the year, especially if there’s only one or two people at home. Personally, I live alone and I do wish there was an option to order meals for just one person.

Source: Instagram (@etiquettable, @chicdesplantes)

✅ In summary, I encourage you to try Rutabago as the meals are truly delicious and the delivered ingredients are of good quality. Personally, I didn't encounter any issues, but I felt reassured knowing that I could call customer service if anything were to arise. 😊

FAQs about Rutabaga: I Answer YOUR Questions!

To conclude this experience report, I’d like to include a short FAQ section to address some of the main questions you might have about Rutabago! 😉

Source: Rutabago.com

Is there a referral system at Rutabago?

Yes, Rutabago offers a referral programme available to all of its customers. It allows the person referred to receive £20 off their first order, and the referrer to receive the same amount for each person who places an order.

👉 To refer someone, you need to send them your personal referral code. You can find it in your Rutabago customer account, under the section "My Referral Program". You can only refer individuals who have never placed an order, and you must have already ordered the Rutabago meal kit yourself. 😉

How to get a Rutabago discount code? 🤑

You can obtain a £20 discount code through referral by following the instructions above.

At the moment, you can also get a discount of £20 using the following code: PAR-63FC1E!

Source: Rutabago.com

How to contact Rutabago by phone? 📞

You can call Rutabago's customer service at 01 75 85 85 06 (or +33175858506 if calling from abroad) at the cost of a local call. The customer service hours are from 10 am to 12 pm and 2 pm to 5 pm, Monday to Friday.

💬 Alternatively, you can also get in touch with Rutabago via email at bonjour@rutabago.com! The advisors are very responsive during the week!

📩 To visit Rutabago or for any inquiries, here is the company's postal address:

Rutabaga

84 Paul Vaillant Couturier Street

92230 Gennevilliers

France

How to cancel your Rutabago subscription?

Rutabago is no-strings-attached. You can cancel your subscription whenever you like. To ensure your cancellation is processed before the next delivery, please do so before 11:59 PM on the Wednesday prior to the delivery.

To do this, log in to your account, then go to "My Subscription". You will then need to click on "Pause my subscription until further notice". If you wish, you can reactivate it later! This is how I manage it when I want to order occasionally from Rutabago, and it works very well.

In conclusion, I find that the Rutabago box is really incredibly convenient when you don't have the time or inclination to explore new dishes. Have you tried it? 😊