Meal providers
Over the years we've had many producers of meals cross our kitchen threshold, but not many have stood the test of time and found a market that is sustainable over a period of more than 4 years. This case study is a common story and a conglomeration of several businesses.
Knowing your point of difference is hard when operating in such a crowded market - especially when some of those competitors are big retailers and supermarkets with their own brand developed a product to fill a gap right now, built to a price point and not necessarily to stand the test of time.
Nutrition goals: bodybuilders, athletes, weight loss, allergen control, vegan, gluten free,
Cultural cuisines: Korean, Philipino, Vietnamese, Polynesian, etc.
Setting the Scene
Steve has a background in corporate but also has a keen interest in fitness. He works out at the gym most days and eats to sustain that elevated fitness level he's worked so hard to achieve.
The challenge he found was sourcing the best fuel for his body to work at its peak. Navigating the minefield of nutrition and dietetics for athletes has led him to develop some delicious meals and his friends in the gym have started asking him to help them achieve their fitness goals as well.
The opportunity became too big to handle from his Mum's home kitchen, so he reached out to find out how to make the most of this opportunity and keep the momentum going. First thing to source was a commercial kitchen, but he got so much more from us.
How did we help Steve?
First of all, we took a look at his meals and refined his recipes, making sure they were scalable and his production methods were food safe. We helped him through the registration process with our local Council Environmental Health Office which included putting him in touch with an organisation that provides Food Safety Supervisor Training and reviewed his labelling to make sure it was compliant with the current food laws.
The packaging needed some work, so we presented him with options and introductions to suppliers that delivered relevant packet options for his meals and portion sizes, including a sealing machine to make his processing so much more effective and efficient. By the height of his operations in our kitchen space Steve was creating almost 1000 meals/week over 2.5-3 days of production.
His branding needed to be refined and sleeves printed for the meals to make them look more professional, which meant an introduction to a graphic designer with specific food experience.
Identifying his path to market involved much discussion around how to get his product to his customer and who might be involved in that journey. Steve had some great ideas around engaging influencers in the fitness market and he was not shy about asking for what he needed, coming to agreements with influential figures in the bodybuilding scene and paying them in meals. His first year in business saw him cater to one of the biggest bodybuilding shows in town - an impressive introduction and exposure to International figures in the fitness scene.
We also discussed how to keep his distribution costs down. One of the most successful avenues was approaching gym owners to place fridges in their premises act as pick up points. This way both members and guests could both work out and pick up meals on a regular basis. This meant considering how to make it easier for the gym owners by doing all the admin behind the scenes, taking orders, invoicing clients directly and paying his gym partners a nominal "rent" for space and power.
Once the business was growing and revenue stabilised, the conversation then turned to ideas on how to grow even bigger and expand into other States. The two popular options were setting up a centralised kitchen and managing a National distribution chain, or duplicating the model in each State, starting in South Australia, and engaging partners in each location. In the end, Steve's business was noticed by a competitor and a deal was struck to sell it as a going concern to enable their own National business plans.
Steve was one of our regular clients both using the kitchen space AND our consulting services via the Accountability Sessions.
You might have a great product and existing clients, but to expand into a customer base that does not know you personally means considering the following:
looking professional – the right packaging appropriate to the product and customer
branding that instils trust and can be recognised in its own right
food safe production and compliance with food laws
keeping your distribution costs down
understanding your customers’ habits and engaging the right partners to reach them
engaging the early adopters to be your cheer squad