Asia-Based Meal Delivery Startup Nutrition Kitchen Launches In UK

LONDON, United Kingdom — Hong Kong and Singapore based meal delivery startup Nutrition Kitchen has launched in the UK to leverage growing demand for specialised DTC nutrition services.

Launched five years ago in Asia, the company has delivered more than 1 million meals in its native market. Now it plans to take on competitors in England’s capital including Fresh Fitness Food, MunchFit, No1 Food Prep and more, to expand its foothold on the multi-billion dollar global market.

Founded by a group of fitness industry professionals, the business, which provides a range of healthy meals tailored to individuals’ needs, has had the UK in its crosshairs for a number of years, according to Co-Founder Pete Fisher. However, with COVID-19 accelerating awareness and demand for more specialised options within the meal delivery segment, the landscape has become ripe for activity, and the startup isn’t the only company taking steps to exploit that.

Earlier this year, HelloFresh launched the UK’s first keto recipe box Green Chef, in an attempt to tap into a new demographic. Elsewhere, MunchFit — a healthy food provider to Equinox and Barry’s Bootcamp — closed a £1.2 million crowdfunding campaign to open five more cafes, launch its Fuel range into major supermarkets and promote further growth. And in a further sign of the times, DTC ready meal maker Parsley Box raised £17 million in an IPO, valuing the business at £84 million.

Despite the increase in activity, Nutrition Kitchen believes it’s well-positioned to carve out a spot for itself in the UK.

“I think what makes us unique is that we created a service that we wanted to use,” Fisher told Welltodo.

Adding: “We knew we had a great product-market fit from day one and we were really well-positioned within the fitness industry to create a product that met the needs of our clients.”

Instead, the main challenge in coming to the UK is presenting people with a more localised menu without losing the brand’s point of difference, according to Fisher.

With that in mind, the startup is currently focused on getting feedback from its customers — and most seem to be really enjoying the Asian influence on the menu, Fisher told Welltodo.

He’s also mindful of the emergence of cloud kitchens, accelerated by COVID-19, which he believes have the potential to disrupt traditional restaurants. But he’s not letting that slow down the company’s growth plans.

“We have ambitious targets for the markets we are currently in. We want to really focus on growing and consolidating in the Hong Kong and Singapore markets as much as possible over the next year,” he revealed.

“And with the UK, we are very much a new company establishing ourselves in one of the world’s greatest cities so we want to gain market share.”

Beyond its existing markets, the startup is also looking at a number of new markets in Europe and the Asia Pacific.

“The process for us is finding the right way to enter these markets in a way that aligns with our company values and guarantees a consistent client experience.”