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<\/p>\nOn Christmas Day, thousands will tuck into a Christmas dinner cooked by Prep Kitchen, in a festive tradition that has seen the meal-prep subscription service donate more than 10,000 meals to charity over the past three years.<\/p>\n
Not that most of its merry diners in Southend will care, but a \u201cregular\u201d Prep Kitchen Christmas dinner comes in at just over 600 calories and nearly 40 grams of protein, with options for larger or lower-carb portions. The company, which delivers prepared meals designed to be microwaved in minutes, was founded by university friends Will Fishenden, 38, and Mark Morley, 37, in 2015 to cater to dieters and fitness buffs who were short of time.<\/p>\n
Revenue grew from \u00a313.9 million in 2023 to \u00a326.6 million last year, and is approaching \u00a335 million. Pre-tax profit fell from \u00a3573,000 in 2023 to \u00a357,000 last year, a drop the company attributes to moving to a new site while expanding the team and marketing spend.<\/p>\n
Prep Kitchen says it regularly feeds 50 to 60 Olympians, among other professional athletes. Athlete ambassadors, including Anthony Joshua, the boxer, and Eddie Hall, the weightlifter and former winner of the World\u2019s Strongest Man title, have helped to cement the company\u2019s credibility. \u201cWe\u2019ve always said that we want to deliver restaurant-quality food, but that is going to help people reach their fitness goals,\u201d Fishenden said. <\/p>\n
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Anthony Joshua<\/p>\n
JAMES CHANCE\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n
Customers tend to choose it for lifestyle reasons. Almost 70 per cent of respondents in a customer survey said that what they valued most was that its meals saved time and simplified their daily routine. Fewer than half chose to buy from Prep Kitchen to support health and fitness goals. <\/p>\n
Fishenden said this was consistent with broader trends in Britain\u2019s health-conscious spending<\/a>. Ten years ago, when Prep Kitchen started, there was \u201ca lot of noise\u201d about dieting but fewer people were tracking their macros intake, the proportion of calories derived from protein, carbohydrates and fat.<\/p>\n \u201cConsumer behaviour has massively changed now and people are very in tune with what they need to do to reach their goals,\u201d he added. At the same time, Fishenden argued, health is something that consumers are less willing to cut back on, even as budgets tighten. Some studies have shown that consumers are often willing to pay a premium for healthier foods<\/a>.<\/p>\n Investors piled into the convenience meal market during the pandemic. UK ready-meal and meal-kit companies raised \u00a3150 million in 2022, according to Beauhurst, the research firm. Funding has since cooled. Only about \u00a317 million was invested last year.<\/p>\n According to analysis from GlobalData, the meal-kit subscription industry<\/a> is expected to expand from \u00a316.1 million in 2024 to \u00a322.2 million by 2029. This surge is partly driven by a shift in consumer behavior, as 34 per cent of UK households are cooking at home more frequently. Ramsey Baghdadi, consumer analyst at GlobalData, said: \u201cThe consumer routine of cooking from scratch also gives an opportunity for brands offering a convenient solution through online orders to suit consumers\u2019 on-the-go lifestyle and limits their frustration over choice overload.\u201d<\/p>\n Supermarkets are embracing the trend. Marks & Spencer\u2019s strong performance at the start of the year was partly thanks to its popular dine-at-home deals, according to Nielsen IQ, the consumer intelligence company. Sainsbury\u2019s is focused on delivering \u201crestaurant quality at home\u201d with its expanded Taste the Difference range, in a bet that cash-strapped shoppers will continue to swap dining out for eating at home<\/a>. <\/p>\n And Charlie Bigham, whose meals are stocked in most UK supermarkets, prides himself on offering a \u201creally high-quality alternative\u201d to eating out<\/a> \u201cfor a significantly lower price\u201d. <\/p>\n Prep Kitchen argues that its competitive pricing has helped it hold its ground against rivals. \u201cIn the last ten years, we\u2019ve only put prices up twice,\u201d Fishenden said. The company runs production in-house. As it has expanded, it has become more efficient in the production process, allowing it to trim costs. These efficiencies have been passed on to customers, not into extra profit, Fishenden said. \u201cWe know the pressure on UK food prices, and we want our product to stay accessible.\u201d<\/p>\n