Frequently Asked Questions
About our meat products
Our meat is sourced from passionate Kiwi farmers and suppliers. These farmers raise their stock ethically and prioritise animal wellbeing.
We work with our farmers and butchers to cut your meat fresh-to-order to ensure that you get the freshest meat to enjoy. Our team pack your meat in Auckland and deliver to your door nationwide using packaging that can be recycled and specially designed for keeping your meat chilled and fresh.
We source New Zealand meat and produce wherever possible, however when a product is not readily available from a New Zealand supplier we may look further afield.
Naturally, all our Beef and Lamb are both free-range and pasture/grass-fed. Our Pork products are not free range, however, are farmed humanely and ethically by three fantastic farmers that are 'Pig Care' accredited.
We can’t guarantee that all our chicken is free range because we need to work with a variety of farmers to ensure we stay in stock. All our chicken farmers however operate in strict accordance to regulations stipulated by the Ministry of Primary Industries.
Most of our sausages are gluten-free, but be sure to look for the GF icon at each product to ensure it is gluten-free. We also provide allergen information in the product description and under 'product info' for your peace of mind.
Where products claim they are Gluten Free, it is likely they are made in plants where Gluten may be present.
We know you want none of the nasties in your meat, so we stay away from gluten and all other allergens wherever possible. However, there is the odd occasion where we simply can't re-work a recipe to taste as fantastic as we would like to without having some gluten present.
Be sure to check the product information to ensure the product you are buying is free of gluten or check the ‘product info’ section for gluten and allergen information.
Where products claim they are Gluten Free, it is likely they are made in plants where Gluten may be present.
Please note that most of our grocery items do contain Gluten. Please read labels before consuming.
Unfortunately, the products that make up our Meat Boxes can't be interchanged or swapped out. However, this is where our 'build your own box' feature comes in handy and allows you to fully customise a Meat Box to your preferred combination and preferences.
Our chicken (excluding our Heat & Eat range) is halal, certified by FIANZ. Our Fresh Moana Fish and Butterflied Lamb Leg and Lamb Leg Steaks are also Halal.
Our bacon is not nitrate free.
While nitrate free bacon is available, it is very expensive. As much as we’d love to offer this option, we strive to keep our bacon at an accessible price for everyone, and offering nitrate free bacon would significantly increase the cost.
Rest assured, we always prioritise quality and taste in all our products.
General
Any stock items are normally replenished within a few days. If it is a unique product, such as a Wagyu steak cut or promotional offering, the lead time can be longer. However, to be sure of when it is back in stock, simply take advantage of our 'back in stock notification and opt for an email when it is next available.
Yes, we are seeing a growing demand in restaurants wishing to use us as their preferred supplier.
For all Wholesale enquiries contact us at info@themeatbox.co.nz
Nope, we are an online shop exclusively. This is what gives us the ability to deliver a better and fresher product to you, at a price point less than what it would cost if we also ran an operated physical store. However, our stock is also sold at Paddock to Pantry in Karaka.
Once you have made your order, you will need to email us immediately at info@themeatbox.co.nz to discuss potential changes. We can't guarantee we'll get your message in time, but if we do, we will certainly do our best to change things for you. We can generally change things such as additional items and delivery instructions quite easily, however, it is harder to change a delivery date - please email us to discuss.
If your request is within 48hrs notice of your delivery date we’re unable to make changes to your order.
Please note: Our customer service team works Monday - Friday 9 am - 3 pm and will respond to enquiries within 24 hours. We DO NOT operate over the weekend. If you have emailed us over the weekend, we will respond as soon as we are back in the office on Monday.
Our customer service team works Monday - Friday 9 am - 3 pm and will respond to enquiries within 24 hours. Please note that we DO NOT operate over the weekend. If you have emailed us over the weekend, we will respond as soon as we are back in the office on Monday.
Deliveries
We deliver all over New Zealand, bringing restaurant quality meat and more right to your doorstep.
Your delivery rate and timeframe will depend on your address and the contents of your order. For orders over $150 shipping is free, excluding rural areas and Waiheke Island.
We work with a few trusted courier partners – including Urgent Couriers and NZ Post – to make sure your order arrives safely and efficiently. Once you enter your address at checkout, you’ll see your delivery options and rate.
You’ll also be able to choose your preferred delivery date based on what’s available to your postcode.
Our courier partners deliver on the selected date 94% of the time – but if something unexpected happens and your order doesn’t arrive on your expected day, please check in with your relevant courier below:
Urgent Couriers: 09 307 3555
NZ Post: 0800 501 501
If you need assistance please contact our team on info@themeatbox.co.nz, and we’ll follow it up for you.
Rural delivery note: Delivery may take 2–3 days longer depending on the local courier. Because rural timeframes can vary so much, we’re not able to guarantee delivery of perishable items arriving fresh.
Once your order is on its way, you’ll receive tracking details via email or text.
Got questions about delivery to your area? Our friendly team’s happy to help.
We deliver to metro areas throughout New Zealand. We do not deliver to Chatham Islands, Great Barrier Islands as well as other hard to reach areas, and we do not guarantee Rural Delivery (please see FAQ DO YOU DELIVER TO RURAL ADDRESSES? for more detail).
Please use our post code checker located at the top of every page called ‘Check Delivery Address’ to see if we deliver to you.
Yes, we deliver to metro areas in the South Island. In fact we have one of the cheapest delivery fees on the market for South Island delivery. Enter your postcode at checkout to see what's available in your area.
Although we are unable to give an accurate estimated time of arrival, orders are typically delivered between 9am to 8pm.
You will also receive an email from us once your order has been completed and packed and includes your unique delivery tracking number.
Simply click on the tracking number link found in the email and it will show you where your order is at each stage of delivery, for e.g. 1) Being sorted, 2) Out for delivery or 3) Delivered.
Once delivered, you will receive a text notification to let you know your Meat Box has arrived safely.
All our Meat Boxes are packed inside our very effective, compostable wool liners, accompanied by our 'slow temper' gel ice packs.
This offers great peace of mind, as the temperatures inside the box mimic your home refrigerator and remain under 7 degrees until you receive your Meat Box.
Once packed by us, your Meat Box is sent by overnight priority courier.
* If there are any issues concerning your order or its quality please ensure you provide images and the order number to us by email on the day of delivery.
We’re sorry to hear this! Sometimes browsers can act up and need a quick reset. If you’re seeing this error, try these steps:
- Clear your browser cache and refresh the page.
- Place your order using an incognito window or try a different browser.
If the error persists, please contact our friendly team.
Call us on 0800 632 8269
Email us at info@themeatbox.co.nz
To help us troubleshoot, include:
- A screenshot of your cart
- Your delivery address
- Your preferred delivery date
We’ll get this sorted for you and can manually place the order if needed.
We're sure we do, however, just plug your address into our ‘address finder’ and it can tell you right away.
We can deliver to rural addresses, however this is not covered by our delivered fresh guarantee. A standard rural courier can take an additional day or two on top of our priority overnight service, which is a challenge as our Meat Boxes are designed to be effective on an overnight service.
Some of our rural customers know that their local courier delivers overnight and proceed to order, however this is at their own risk. We do not encourage this and our delivered fresh guarantee doesn’t apply to rural deliveries.
Some of our rural customers have contacted their local non-rural supermarket, post office, gas station, etc and used them as a pick-up point. (Please note, you will have to get in touch with the delivery location/delivery company and confirm that they are happy to accept deliveries).
If you order to a rural address you will be charged a higher delivery fee. This is because we are charged a higher delivery fee for this service.
We can deliver to rural address, however they are not covered by our delivered fresh guarantee.
For Overnight delivery with rural addresses, the courier takes an additional day on top of our priority overnight service. This is a challenge as our Meat Boxes are designed to be effective only as an overnight service.
Some of our rural customers know that their local courier delivers overnight and proceed to order, however this is at their own risk. We do not encourage this and our delivered fresh guarantee doesn’t apply to rural deliveries.
Some of our rural customers have contacted their local non-rural supermarket, post office, gas station, etc and used them as a pick-up point. (Please note, you will have to get in touch with the delivery location/delivery company and confirm that they are happy to accept deliveries).
Rural delivery is not covered by our free delivery offer over $150, instead a discounted rate is applied when the order is over $150.
Sure, please provide us with your order number and we will amend the delivery address or delivery date (48 hours' notice is required before the delivery date). If your request is within 48hrs notice of your delivery date we’re unable to make changes to your order.
Most orders are delivered between 9am and 8pm, with 94% arriving on the delivery date you selected.
We partner with reliable couriers who work hard to deliver on time, but occasionally, unexpected delays in the network can occur - especially during busy periods.
The good news? 99% of orders arrive within 48 hours of leaving us. So even if there’s a slight delay, your box is almost always with you within two days.
If you’re unsure or concerned about your order, just flick us an email with your order details and let us know if today was your expected delivery date. Our friendly customer care team will look into it and come back to you with an update or solution right away.
There are a few reasons your Meat Box might not have been delivered - sometimes it's not safe to leave, there might be a dog on site, or the courier may be running behind schedule.
For the latest updates, check your tracking link for live information on your delivery status. If you'd like to follow up directly with NZ Post, you can reach them on 0800 501 501 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 5:30pm, excluding public holidays) .
Still concerned? Flick us an email with your order details and let us know if today was the expected delivery date. Our friendly customer care team will jump on it and get back to you with a solution ASAP.
Yes – absolutely. If there’s a safe place to leave your order, our courier drivers will usually do so. Your delivery is marked as ‘Authority to Leave’, which means it’ll be left at your door (or another safe spot).
Your Meat Box is packed with slow-temper gel ice and wrapped in an insulated wool liner, keeping everything chilled and fresh until you get home.
NZ Post typically delivers between 9am - 8pm.
Yes, of course. You will receive a tracking number via email once your shipping label has been printed by us before your box is prepared.
You will be able to click on the tracking link within that email to see your delivery information. Please allow some time for your tracking details to go live.
If you’ve received your Meat Box but your Fruit and Veg Box hasn’t arrived yet, don’t fret!
Sometimes these items have to be sent separately, but they should still arrive on the same day. If this hasn’t happened or if you’re concerned please email our friendly customer service team at info@themeatbox.co.nz and our team will follow this up for you.
You will need to email us immediately at info@themeatbox.co.nz to discuss potential changes. We can't guarantee we'll get your message in time, but if we do, we will certainly do our best to change things for you.
Orders and account details
Yes, you will have to pay the delivery fee out of the voucher value to ship, however, if you spend over $150, shipping is free nationwide (excluding the Great Barrier and Chattam Islands and rural addresses)
On a very odd occasion, this may happen, or sometimes our confirmation email makes its way to the junk folder of your inbox.
Simply flick us a quick email with your first and last name and we can then pull up your order and confirm its status. If there are any other issues with your order, one of our customer care team will look to get resolved them right away for you.
Customer experience is paramount to everyone here at The Meat Box so rest assured we will resolve any issues quickly and promptly.
Send us a quick email with a short description of the issue and we will resolve this quickly for you. Our helpful customer care team aim to have any and all issues sorted within a two hour turnaround (between the hours of 9 am - 3 pm).
Simply email your voucher code/coupon number to us on info@themeatbox.co.nz and we will take a look as to why it isn’t working and resolve right away.
Please email us with your name, address or phone number and we will search through our orders list and confirm if your order is in for processing, or if not, look at how we can get this sorted right away.
Not a problem, the email notification you received is to inform you your order has been completed and packed. It is now awaiting uplift with NZ post to then be put on the appropriate delivery run early the next day.
You will receive a text notification once it is delivered. In the meantime feel free to click on the tracking number within the email you have received so you can check its status at any given time.
Yes absolutely, we can take your credit card details over the phone now and select the items you wish to order. However, we would much prefer all payments are made via our super simple and safe checkout. Send us an email so we can take a look and see if we can attempt payment via the site one last time.
If need be, one of our super helpful customer care team will schedule a call with you and assist or walk you through the process.
Sure, you can always see this by hitting the tracking link in your order confirmation email from us, however, you are most welcome to flick us a quick email with your order number, or first and last name, and we will update you right away.
Your order should always arrive in a chilled condition and feel cold to the touch.
If this is not the case please ensure you follow the below 'corrective actions' or let our customer care team know so they can walk you through the process.
Corrective actions:
Place the contents of the Meat Box in the very coldest part of your fridge (typically the back). As each hour passes, check the meat products (a temperature probe is best but not essential) until the meat product drops back into the safe zone of 4 degrees or less. This should happen within 4 hours.
If the meat smelly or slimy when the packet is opened please don’t eat it and contact our customer care team straight away.
In the event the prescribed corrective actions have failed, we will provide you with a full refund or re-cut and send your order.
Absolutely! We are committed to decreasing our landfill and recycling impact. Please email us on info@themeatbox.co.nz and let us know that you’d like to request a collection and our team will create a return label for you. Please ensure that you have enough liners and ice packs to fill a box before returning to us.
We have an extensive range of payment methods available including debit card, credit card, Afterpay, POLi, Internet Banking and Zip.
If your Meat Box is missing products or add-ons, please send us an email to info@Themeatbox.co.nz with your order number and a photograph of your box and the packing slip.
If your Meat Box has incorrect products, please send us an email to info@themeatbox.co.nz with your order number and a photograph of your box and the packing slip.
If you didn’t select a delivery date when checking out then don’t stress, email us at info@themeatbox.co.nz and our friendly customer service team can add a delivery date to your order.
Subscriptions
It's quick an easy and can be done in less than 15". Watch this video to learn how to subscribe to your favourite products.
To make getting fresh-cut-to-order meat delivered to your doorstep even easier we’ve introduced the ability to subscribe to your favourite Meat Box products.
On the product page instead of selecting ‘One-time purchase’ select ‘Subscribe’, select the frequency of your subscription and proceed to checkout as per usual. At the cart the code 'SUBSCRIPTION' will automatically be added to give you free delivery. Your order will then be charged automatically for your next order and it’ll be delivered to your door without you having to lift a finger!
As a benefit of being a subscription customer you receive free shipping with your order. Please note that on signing up to a subscription you are signing up for a minimum of 3 deliveries before you can cancel your order. If you cancel before this, you will required to pay the delivery fees for the orders that you have received to date.
Please refer to the subscription T&Cs here for more details.
You can make changes to your subscription at anytime. Simply login to your Meat Box account and select ‘Manage Subscriptions’ from here you can update your payment details or change your delivery frequency.
If you need any support with your subscription please email us on info@themeatbox.co.nz
To thank our loyal subscription customers, we are offering you free delivery on all subscription orders over $50.
All you have to do is select your favourite Meat Box products ensuring to select 'subscribe' on the product page, then at checkout the discount code 'SUBSCRIPTION' will automatically applied. This will give you free delivery on this order and all future subscription orders.
Please note that in order to be eligible for free delivery you must stay subscribed for a minimum of 3 deliveries. If you wish to cancel before 3 deliveries you will be required to pay the delivery fees for the orders that you have received to date.
As well as free delivery, you also receive the convenience of knowing that your Meat Box will be delivered to your door without you having to lift a finger.
To check if you've selected a subscription or one-off product, please go to the top right hand side of your cart if you're on desktop, or click 'Cart' if you're on mobile.
Review the products in your cart, and look for the line 'Delivery every X Week' under the product name. If you see this, you have selected a subscription product. If you don't see this, then you have selected a one-time product.
If you have a combination of subscription and one-time products, please change your one-time product to subscription or increase your order to $150 to receive free delivery. Alternatively, you can leave your order as is and pay the delivery fee.
We're very sorry about this!
You can enter the code SUBSCRIPTION manually into the discount code box to receive free delivery.
If you're still encountering issues, please email our friendly team on info@themeatbox.co.nz with a screenshot of your cart.
This isn't ideal - we're sorry that this has happened to you.
This may have happened because you have ordered a subscription product with a one-time product. Please refer to the question 'I've selected subscription but I'm still being charged for delivery?' to help troubleshoot this.
If this doesn't fix your issue, please email our team on info@themeatbox.co.nz with your order number and our team will resolve this for you.
Sure, that's easy! The below steps will show you how:
Please note that all changes need to be made at least 48hrs before you are due to receive your delivery.
1. Login to your account
Simply login to your Meat Box account on our website by clicking 'Login' in the top right hand corner. If you haven't signed up before, please sign-up using the same email address that your subscription is under. Once logged in, please click 'Manage Subscriptions' from the menu.
Alternatively, please refer to your subscription confirmation email and click 'Manage subscription' shown in the below image. You would have received this when you first signed up for your subscription. 
If you're unable to access your account through either of the above methods, please email our team on info@themeatbox.co.nz who can send you a direct link.
2. Once you've landed on the Subscription Home Page, please click 'Subscriptions' on the top menu
3. If you'd like to add a product, click 'Add Product' button and follow the steps. If you'd like to swap your product, skip an order or cancel your subscription please continue to step 4.
4. Scroll to the bottom of the page and select what changes you'd like to make to your order and follow the steps shown on screen:
Please note that as outlined in the subscription T&Cs there is a minimum of 3 orders before you can cancel your subscription. If you'd like to cancel your subscription before you have received 3 deliveries you will be required to pay for the delivery fees for the subscription orders received to date. Please contact our team on info@themeatbox.co.nz if this situation applies to you.
We're sorry to see you go :(
If you are experiencing an issue we'd love to have the chance to resolve it before you cancel. If you could please email our friendly support team on info@themeatbox.co.nz with your issue and we will do our best to solve this for you.
If you'd like to continue to cancel and you've received more than 3 subscription orders, you can do this by following logging into your portal and following the steps outlined in the FAQ 'I want to make a change to my subscription'.
If you'd like to cancel and it's before the minimum subscription term of 3 orders please email our team on info@themeatbox.co.nz. In order to cancel before our minimum subscription term that you agreed to in the T&Cs, you will need to pay for the delivery fees for the orders received to date ($10 per delivery). Our team will organise this payment for you and cancel your order once this payment has been made.
