How a startup served 2.5 million plant-based meals and changed the way Britain eats vegetables

From nationalworld.com

Grubby started with office lunches and a simple idea: make eating more plants easier and more enjoyable. Millions of meals later, the company is entering a new chapter.

Five years ago, building an entire food business around plant-based eating looked like a risky proposition.

Although veganism was becoming more mainstream, many consumers still associated plant-based food with compromise. It was often seen as expensive, overly worthy and aimed at a relatively small audience rather than everyday households looking for dinner inspiration after work.

Yet that was the challenge the founders of Grubby⁠ decided to take on when they launched the business in London in 2019.

The founders say the aim was never to persuade people to become vegan overnight. Instead, they wanted to make eating more plants easier, more accessible and, crucially, more enjoyable.

            Grubby launches its first-ever ready meals, making cooking tasty dinners quick and easy (aff) | Grubby

What began as a lunch delivery business serving offices would soon evolve into something much bigger. When the pandemic transformed the way people worked and shopped, Grubby pivoted into recipe boxes, becoming what the company describes as the UK’s first fully plant-based meal kit service.

The timing proved fortunate.

As consumers became more interested in healthy eating, sustainability and reducing food waste, demand grew for services such as Grubby’s meal kits⁠, which removed much of the planning and shopping while still allowing customers to cook fresh meals at home.

According to the company, more than 2.5 million meals have now been served, helping transform what was once a small start-up into one of Britain’s best-known plant-based food brands.

Rather than focusing on what customers should stop eating, Grubby says it has always concentrated on what people can add to their diets instead. Its recipes draw inspiration from cuisines around the world and are designed to be prepared in around 30 minutes or less, with pre-portioned ingredients helping to minimise waste.

That approach appears to have resonated with consumers far beyond traditional vegan audiences.

The company has collaborated with brands including BOSH!, Mildreds and LEON, while building a customer base that increasingly includes people who simply want to eat more vegetables without completely changing their lifestyle. 

Grubby says its new range of plant-based ready meals combines high protein and fibre with quick “heat, ding, eat” convenience. | Grubby

Now Grubby is taking its biggest step since launching those original recipe boxes.

The company has expanded into frozen ready meals for the first time, giving customers the option to cook from scratch when they have the time and reach for a chef-made meal when they don’t.

According to Grubby, the new range has been designed to deliver the same flavour-first philosophy that helped build its meal kit business.

Products include the Tex Mex Protein Bowl⁠, which contains 20.2g of protein and 11.2 plant points, the Sticky Teriyaki Udon Noodles⁠, which combine vegetables and noodles in a rich teriyaki sauce, and the Spicy Szechuan Noodles⁠, which deliver 25g of protein alongside 10.5 plant points.

The emphasis on plant points reflects a broader shift taking place across Britain’s food culture.

Professor Tim Spector and nutrition science company ZOE⁠ have helped popularise the idea that eating a wider variety of plants can support better gut health, encouraging consumers to think beyond simple calorie counting.

According to Grubby, its Plant Points range was developed to help customers increase the diversity of plants they eat each week, supporting the increasingly popular goal of consuming around 30 different plants.

Nutrition is only part of the story, however.

As a certified B Corp, Grubby says every recipe is assessed against meat equivalents to estimate carbon savings, while customers can track the environmental impact of their food choices over time.

Yet despite the sustainability credentials and nutritional messaging, the company has consistently tried to avoid becoming overly serious about food.

Recipe boxes arrive with curated Spotify playlists, colourful branding and recipes designed to feel exciting rather than restrictive. According to the business, the goal has always been to make eating more plants something people look forward to rather than something they feel obliged to do.

That philosophy has helped the company grow from a start-up delivering lunches to offices into a national brand serving millions of meals.

With meal kits, ready meals and further product launches planned for the future, Grubby is betting that Britain’s appetite for convenient plant-based food still has plenty of room to grow.

https://www.nationalworld.com/recommended/grubby-plant-based-meal-kits-ready-meals-8689397