HelloFresh is a subscription meal-kit product that acquires customers through paid channels and retains them through recurring weekly orders. Leadership wants a single North Star Metric (NSM) that reflects long-term customer value rather than just short-term signups.
In the last quarter, HelloFresh added 420,000 new subscribers, but only 58% placed a second box order within 30 days and 41% were still active after 90 days. Average order value was $67, average gross margin per delivered box was $19, and weekly order skip rate rose from 18% to 24%. Marketing is optimizing to trial starts, while operations is optimizing on-time delivery rate (94.5%), and product is focused on app engagement. The Chief Product Officer asks you to define the best North Star Metric for HelloFresh and explain why it should be preferred over alternatives such as total subscribers, revenue, or app DAU.
| Data Source | Description |
|---|---|
| subscriptions | customer_id, signup_date, plan_type, acquisition_channel, status, cancel_date |
| orders | order_id, customer_id, scheduled_week, delivered_at, box_price, discount_amount, items_count |
| skips_pauses | customer_id, week, skip_flag, pause_flag, reason_code |
| delivery_ops | order_id, on_time_flag, missing_item_flag, refund_amount |
| app_events | customer_id, event_time, event_name, recipe_views, add_on_clicks |
| support_tickets | customer_id, created_at, ticket_type, resolution_time |