Homefresh Experience Cooking was founded by Stephen Curtis, who answers our Q&A about this distinctive brand.

How long has the business been trading?

Homefresh was launched mid-2018. A licence was offered for the first time in 2024.

What does it cost to buy a franchise?

It costs $350,000 to buy a business, stocked and ready to trade.

What is your core business?

Homefresh has two core business activities:
1. Affordable fresh ready meals cooked in-store daily from whole foods.
2. Shopping and cooking classes with NDIS special needs adults and kids, adult experience-based classes, kids’ birthday parties, school term and school holiday programs.

Who is a typical customer?

This is so exciting; I say four to 84 plus is our market. Our classes attract kids from four to 14 who love to cook, young adults who need to learn to cook, and adults who love cooking with others over a wine or two.

Our ready meals appeal to young mums who love providing home-cooked meals to their kids without fuss and working adults who enjoy our meals for work lunches and dinners. Seniors who dislike cooking and would rarely take one of our classes, love having a cooked fresh daily meal without all the shopping, cooking and cleaning up involved.

What makes your brand stand out from the competition? 

1. Homefresh is unique, a branded shopping and cooking school for any shopping centre around the country.

2. Meals are shopped for, cooked and mostly eaten on the same day. We cook from scratch using whole foods and avoiding additives, and we provide an affordable ready meal option.

Why is this a good business for a franchisee to buy into?

If you love to cook or can manage a team who loves to cook, this is a fun brand that is rewarding in so many ways. The community loves us for what we do, we do better than our competitors in the ready meal space and customers can’t wait to tell their friends.

Our meals sell themselves, there is minimal marketing and little administration. The brand has a strong reputation within the disability sector and good national contacts nationally.

It’s a real pleasure to run a profitable business that is doing worthwhile work.

Which is the most valuable element of franchisee support?

Training is simple but effective and Homefresh will hold our franchisees hands until they are ready to step in and lead the class chefs and ready meals team themselves.

How many hours a week does a franchisee typically work?

There are several possibilities because of the profitability. I own my store, and I work two days per week in store.

If the franchisee is a couple or partnership, it would be possible to work 30 hours per week each. There’s also an investment model where the store could be managed by a business team.

What drives your growth strategy?

Brand awareness, Google search, word of mouth and rich content on social media.

What are your expansion plans for the next five years?

Establish a lead store in each capital city, develop a profitability target and then open a second store in each of these markets, and then repeat. I estimate 10 to 15 stores in major markets. 

Please share one exciting innovation/ development you have planned.

Cupid chef match-making experiences – guests arrive and make a mocktail, cook the main meal as a group and then pick a potential buddy to share the dessert preparation.