Gousto swings back to profitability as AI investment pays off

For the year to December 29, 2023, Gousto reported underlying EBITDA of £26m, compared to an £8m loss for the same period in 2022. The recipe-in-a-box retailer said this was “comfortably above” its September 2023 guidance of underlying EBITDA being above £20m.

Sales for the period grew 1% to £308m, while gross profit margin increased 296 basis points to 53.2%.

Gousto said increased use of tech and AI, combined with a “continued focus on cost discipline and the capacity reset in 2022”, helped increase margins despite “significant inflationary pressures”.

The retailer closed out the year with £60m in cash, despite impairment charges “relating to the legacy 2022 capacity reset”.

Founder and chief executive Timo Boldt said: “We have made good progress in 2023, improving our customer proposition with more recipe choices for more households, while also beating our financial expectations. But we are still early in the journey and as a pioneer of recipe kits, we will continue to leverage AI, automation and our technology capability to lead innovation in the category as we extend our reach deeper into the mainstream market.”