Hello Fresh posts BOTTOMSUP Pride code amid backlash

Hello Fresh drew backlash this week after posting a Pride Month message on Instagram that critics read as a reference to anal sex. The post included the line, "We know eating isn't always a top priority this month. We respect that. But for those of you who are… prepping… we have an extensive lineup of high-fiber recipes available. Happy Pride,".

When a commenter floated the promo code "BOTTOMSUP," Hello Fresh replied, "Use code BOTTOMSUP for a Pride Month discount ?️‍? @yourguymattyry you ask we deliver. Literally,". The exchange brought roughly 100,000 likes and drew criticism that the wording could be harmful to people battling eating disorders.

Hello Fresh Instagram post this week

The company’s post used language that pointed to bodily preparation tied to anal sex, according to the Daily Wire. Hello Fresh is a meal-kit delivery brand that sends pre-portioned ingredients and step-by-step recipes to customers’ doors, so the message landed inside a brand feed built around food, convenience, and delivery.

That contrast helped drive the reaction. Some users objected to the opening line itself, while others focused on the way the company answered the commenter who suggested the BOTTOMSUP code. The reply turned the joke into a discount offer and repeated the same phrase back to the user.

2024 Department of Labor finding

The backlash also revived earlier criticism of the company. Commenters resurfaced a 2024 Department of Labor finding that migrant children worked at one of Hello Fresh’s facilities, and Hello Fresh blamed a third-party staffing firm, Midway Staffing.

The company ended that contract and cited a zero-tolerance child labor policy. That earlier dispute gave the Pride post a wider audience, since the new criticism landed on top of an old labor issue that had already drawn attention.

Postmates in 2022

The same topic had appeared in another promotion in 2022, when Postmates rolled out a "bottom-friendly" menu for Pride. Hello Fresh’s post followed that same vein, but the company’s own wording and reply pushed the conversation back onto its social feed.

For customers, the immediate effect is reputational rather than operational: the company still delivers meals, but the post has become part of how readers judge the brand’s judgment. The clearest next step is how Hello Fresh chooses to handle the response, because the Instagram thread already set the tone for the backlash.