MunchFit fuels up with £1.2m through equity crowdfunder
MunchFit, healthy food provider to luxury gym Equinox and elite studio Barry’s Bootcamp has closed £1.2m through a recent crowdfunding campaign via Crowdcube, after attracting substantial investor interest.
Helping to accelerate training results by taking the guesswork out of what to eat, the upmarket goal-based meal service secured equity investment from 330 “Fitvestors” to take the business to the next level.
MunchFit – founded by Angus Fay in 2013 – operates a retail offering, fitness cafés and a nationwide meal plans service that allows people to order up to four meals a day, six days a week tailored to fitness goals.
One of the “Fitvestors” is entrepreneur and investor Spencer Matthews, who used the Fuel Lean Meal Plan to help him achieve his impressive Weight Loss Transformation for Men’s Health. Matthews took delivery of four meals from the Lean plan, three days a week.
The premium Meal Plan delivery service that offers a choice of Lean, Balanced, Strong or Green (plant-based) menus, will use the new cash injection to open five more cafés; launch their Fuel range into major supermarkets; improve the user experience through their website and ecommerce platform, and also make key hires to expand into new business areas and promote growth.
This will increase potential production by 400%, according to Fay.
“The decision to invest in MunchFit practically made itself. The results from using the meal plan for just a few weeks were mind blowing.” said investor Spencer Matthews.
“When a product works that well it’s hard to ignore. Also, having met Angus, I believe in his plan and his ability to deliver it.”
In 2016, MunchFit launched a string of partnerships with premium fitness outlets Equinox and Barry’s Bootcamp, supplying prepared meals to refuel hungry gym-goers, and operating MunchFit cafés within all of Equinox’s UK sites.
In June 2020, with its cafés shuttered by the pandemic, MunchFit swiftly dealt with those setbacks by unveiling Meal Plans – a choice of Lean, Balanced, Strong or Green (plant-based) menus, delivering nationwide.That same year a licensing deal with publishers Hearst was achieved to create Fuel for Men’s Health (and soon launching Women’s Health Fuel).
MunchFit’s retail range is stocked in Planet Organic with a dedicated organic line. Ocado also currently stock a curated edit of tasty, nutritious gourmet meals priced at £9.99, such as Teriyaki Salmon, Moroccan Beef Burgers, Korean BBQ Tofu Steaks and Tunisian Lamb Meatball Tagine.
The premium health food provider has since added Amazon Fresh, As Nature Intended, BXR and Soho House as outlets.
Angus Fay, CEO and founder of MunchFit said, “The level of interest and support has been incredible. We had ambitions to raise £1M, so to have surpassed this really feels like a real vote of confidence and widens the scope of what we can do with the business.
“Most of us have aspirations to be healthy, but lack of time is often the biggest obstacle to achieving our goals: scratch cooking healthy meals goes out the window in favour of grabbing something on-the-go. This means that no matter how hard we work out, if our diet isn’t balanced, we won’t get the results we want to see.
“Post-pandemic, there is an increasing appetite for high quality, health-conscious products – and we’re confident that MunchFit can deliver more than healthy returns.”
As a personal trainer, founder Angus Fay realised many of his clients struggled to eat well, so he asked a friend to whip up some simple, highly nutritious meals to compliment his client’s training program and steer them away from Prêt baguettes.
With just £500, a few kitchens and several chefs later, Fay launched MunchFit in 2013, quickly picking up lunch and breakfast orders for corporate clients, and the company grew quickly.
Unlike recipe boxes which require scratch cooking, MunchFit’s gourmet meals require zero preparation. “Whether you simply want to get in shape,or are training for a half marathon or even the Marathon des Sables, MunchFit will help achieve those goals”, added Fay.
The MunchFit team of chefs is led by tastemaker Jamie Cairns, executive chef, who has more than 25 years of experience between Michelin star restaurants, high-volume production environments, and quality catering companies like Rhubarb.
The menus and meals are also assessed by Mark Ellison, elite sports nutritionist to world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, Manchester United, and Team GB Boxing, guaranteeing world-class credentials that consumers can trust.