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Collapse of cult food delivery company leaves customers fuming
They were the husband and wife team with an army of loyal fans of their online grocery delivery platform, but now Delish Deliveries customers say they feel misled and are owed money after the family company collapsed.
Jaeger and Claire Richmond launched the Sydney-based business in 2009 sending out fresh fruit and vegetables from a garage. Over the years customers said they were drawn to the service because of the Richmonds’ personal touch and great communication, especially on social media.
Jaeger and Claire Richmond founded Delish Deliveries. Credit: Facebook
Sophie Cutler, 32, of Dulwich Hill, has been a customer for five years and described herself as an unpaid sales rep, recommending the business to her friends and family.
She noticed the quality of her produce start to go downhill around Christmas.
Unknown to Sophie, Jaeger and Claire’s company had gone into liquidation and the website was under the control of new operators. She started receiving boxes missing items and days late, and emailed asking for refunds with no response.
“I had no idea they went into liquidation in October or that there were new owners. I only found that out because I went internet sleuthing,” she said.
Jaeger and Claire Richmond say they had no control of Delish Deliveries, despite their images appearing on the website in this screen capture from March 2024.
“I tried to do a pretend order and I got all the way to the payment page, and there was no mention that things were out of stock … it’s so unethical, especially in a cost-of-living crisis, families are struggling.”
While Cutler quickly switched to another service and estimates she is owed around $70, fellow customer Janet Halliday says she is out of pocket over $200 for undelivered groceries.
The 60-year-old carer from Shellharbour said she just wanted answers, given she had been a loyal supporter of the brand since 2021.
“I noticed towards the end of last year … the produce wasn’t predominantly Australian as it used to be, the choices had diminished,” she said.
‘The last order I put in over two weeks ago I have not received at all, and I have not gotten my money back.’
Delish customer Janet Halliday
“Then they changed delivery days, it was now a Friday and it was between midday and 8pm which is not ideal … then the last order I put in over two weeks ago I have not received at all, and I have not gotten my money back.”
Dozens of customers took to social media, including pages belonging to Jaeger and Claire, voicing their frustration about undelivered goods, unanswered emails and lack of refunds.
Customers were mostly confused as to how a company that was in liquidation with money owing to creditors could still be taking orders. Claire and Jaeger’s smiling faces remained emblazoned all over the website.
The Delish Deliveries website still had references to previous owner Jaeger Richmond at time of publication.
In the background, the company had quietly changed hands. While the couple’s original company, listed as Delish Wholesale, was in liquidation, another company, listed as Delish Group, took over the website.
Investor Olivier Adolphe had taken over the Delish operation, which delivers to NSW and parts of the ACT, with Claire Richmond listed as a minority shareholder of the new entity.
In a report to creditors, the liquidator, Westburn Advisory, which had been appointed to the collapse of Delish Wholesale, made several allegations of mismanagement, including that Delish Wholesale had traded while insolvent since 2022, and that the company owed around $3.5 million to creditors and staff.
Meanwhile, the new version of Delish under Adolphe continued to take orders, but the faces of Jaeger and Claire and their personal story continued to greet online customers.
As complaints piled up, however, customers slowly became aware of the ownership change. The new owners had been controlling the business since at least October 2023. Last weekend, Jaeger sent out a text message from his personal number to the last customer list he had access to.
“I no longer have any involvement in the company despite how that might appear online. We have requested our photos, names and family story to be removed from the website and the customer base notified, however this request has gone unanswered,” the text said.
“I’m so sorry if you’ve been personally affected these past eight months, and I’m so grateful for your support throughout my years running Delish.”
This week, the images of the couple were removed from the website.
“Claire and I have no current involvement in the operations of the business known as Delish Group, although Claire is a shareholder of that business,” Jaeger Richmond said in a statement to the Herald.
“It is distressing to learn that some customers of that business might be under the mistaken belief that Claire and I have been involved in orders being paid for and not delivered.”
When approached by the Herald, the new director, Olivier Adolphe, denied there were any outstanding “known” claims for refunds, and said control of the company would be transitioned to Asian grocery delivery company Umall Australia.
“Our investors have faced challenges, and despite our efforts to improve the company, external
political reasons and other factors beyond our control have necessitated this change,” Adolphe said.
“We have decided to transfer operations to an operator that can better fulfil the company’s purpose and vision, and our operations and involvement will cease at the end of this financial year.”
Umall Australia director Stan Chen said they will take on responsibility for all orders placed from Wednesday onwards, and all refunds outstanding will still be the responsibility of The Delish Group to process.
“Following the acquisition, we will be retaining the brand and aim to win back customers with improved products and enhanced services,” he said.
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