Turns out, America’s dirty little secret is… actually dirty. According to a new survey from HelloFresh and Scrub Daddy, 1 in 5 Americans (21%) have left a dish or pan soaking in the sink for so long they forgot what was originally in it. That number jumps to nearly a third (31%) among Gen Z.
The survey of 1,704 nationally representative Americans, conducted by YouGov on behalf of HelloFresh, dug into the nation’s true feelings about cooking, cleaning, and everything that piles up in the sink in between. The findings paint a clear picture: Americans love to cook, but they’ll do almost anything to avoid the cleanup that follows – from eating cereal for dinner to negotiating who’s on dish duty before the first bite.
To bring the partnership to life, HelloFresh and Scrub Daddy are tackling post-dinner cleanup together by delivering iconic Scrub Daddy sponges and brand-new products inside upcoming HelloFresh boxes, which will soon be available for purchase this fall in the HelloFresh Market. The collaboration brings together delicious, convenient home cooking with smart, effective cleaning solutions, helping households spend less time worrying about cleanup and more time enjoying meals together.
“Nobody dreams about the dishes. They dream about dinner. This survey confirms what we hear from customers every day: people love cooking, but the cleanup is what’s holding them back. That’s exactly why HelloFresh recipes are built around fewer pots, fewer pans, and less mess, so the fun part of cooking doesn’t come with a two-hour cleanup tax,” said Michelle Doll Olson, Head Chef, HelloFresh US.
Notable findings from the HelloFresh x Scrub Daddy survey include:
- Over Half of Americans Say Cooks Shouldn’t Clean: The Kitchen Divide. More than half of Americans (53%) agree that whoever cooks the meal shouldn’t have to do the dishes, too, and nearly half (47%) say they’ve had to actively negotiate cleaning duties with a partner or housemate.
- Cereal for Dinner? More Than Half Have Done It to Dodge Dishes. Nearly 9 in 10 Americans (89%) have taken some step to cut down on cleanup after a meal. More than half have cooked a one-pot meal (56%), picked something easy to clean up like a bowl of cereal (53%), or reached for paper plates just to skip the sink altogether (53%).
- Gen Z Will Do Almost Anything to Avoid Cleaning Up. While a third of Americans overall (34%) have actively avoided cleaning up after a meal, Gen Z takes it to another level: 58% have gotten out of cleanup in at least one way, including 38% who’ve left dishes in the sink for someone else to handle, 29% who’ve stayed out of the kitchen altogether, and 24% who’ve made an excuse to get out of it.
- Meet the Sponge That Keeps Odors at Bay. More than a quarter of Americans (26%) go a month or longer between sponge changes – a bad habit made better by Scrub Daddy sponges, which resist odors for up to 12 weeks based on daily use independent lab testing. Rinse and dry between uses for best results.
“A sink full of mystery dishes is one of life’s most avoidable problems, and honestly, so is a gross old sponge. We’re proud to team up with HelloFresh to tackle both ends of the mess, because whoever cooks shouldn’t dread what’s waiting in the sink afterward,” said Aaron Krause, CEO & Founder, Scrub Daddy.
Together, HelloFresh and Scrub Daddy are giving Americans one less thing to dread in the kitchen: fewer dishes to start, and an easier way to handle the ones that are left. Learn more at hellofresh.com and scrubdaddy.com.
About HelloFresh
HelloFresh is the world’s leading meal-kit company, providing customers with fresh, high-quality ingredients to cook delicious meals at home. By delivering pre-portioned ingredients and easy-to-follow recipes directly to customers’ doors, HelloFresh helps busy individuals and families enjoy home-cooked meals without the hassle of meal planning and grocery shopping. HelloFresh has been voted as one of the Most Trusted Meal Kit Delivery Services in America since 2021 by Newsweek. For more information, visit www.hellofresh.com or follow HelloFresh on Facebook, X, Instagram, or TikTok.
About HelloFresh Group
The HelloFresh Group is a global digital-native FMCG company and the world’s leading meal kit provider. The HelloFresh Group consists of eight brands that provide customers with high quality food and recipes for different meal occasions. The Company was founded in Berlin in November 2011 and operates in the USA, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Australia, Austria, Switzerland, Canada, New Zealand, Sweden, France, Denmark, Norway and Ireland. HelloFresh SE went public on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in November 2017 and is currently traded on the SDAX (Small-Cap German Stock Market Index). The HelloFresh Group has offices in Berlin, Saarbrücken, New York, Chicago, Boulder, London, Amsterdam, Sydney, Toronto, Auckland, Paris, Copenhagen, Dublin, Wrocław and Warsaw. For more information, visit www.hellofreshgroup.com.
About Scrub Daddy
Scrub Daddy is a cleaning products company best known for its smiley-face sponges built with proprietary FlexTexture® foam technology. Founded by Aaron Krause in 2012, the brand broke through nationally after its appearance on Shark Tank and has since grown into one of the fastest-growing cleaning brands in the U.S. and internationally, offering a full range of sponges, scrubbers, and cleaning tools available at major retailers and online worldwide.
Methodology
This survey was conducted online by YouGov on behalf of HelloFresh among 1,704 nationally representative Americans. The survey was fielded July 10-13, 2026. The margin of error is +/-2%.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260729496253/en/
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