Zero Waste, Maximum Taste: The Fuel Hub’s Journey to Revolutionise Healthy Eating

“Our focus is on running a company that operates on a completely zero food waste model. Sustainability sits at the core of everything that we do…” (Michelle Laithwaite)

The Fuel Hub is an online premium meal preparation business that delivers fresh, nutritious meals to consumers in eco-friendly packaging. It was founded in 2019 by former professional rugby player James Laithwaite and his wife, Michelle, a former global wholesale fashion manager. While it supplies 20,000 weekly boxes of chef-prepared, nutritious, balanced meals to households across the UK, the firm has some of the UK’s most elite athletes among its clientele.

According to Michelle, the firm’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), consumer habits are moving towards health and convenience, and they founded the business because she knew from her own experience that there was a gap in the market. After a year of testing the idea, they decided to set up the business, as the feedback from the tests had been overwhelmingly positive. So, they went ahead and launched the venture with the goal of transforming “the health of people’s lives”. Since its launch, The Fuel Hub has grown 300 percent year on year. In 2020, its turnover was £87,000. By April 2023, it had risen to £822,105 and by April 2024, it is expected to reach £2.6 million.

The firm operates a zero-waste food model. The meals are prepared in a hi-tech production facility designed to minimise their environmental impact, while their packaging is fully sustainable. Their meal trays are recyclable and biodegradable, and their boxes are made from recycled paper and cardboard, which is printed on using vegan ink. Pure compostable wool is used as a natural insulator. Only high-quality, fresh ingredients are used, and customers can build their plans to meet both their dietary and nutritional needs as well as their plans for the week ahead.

As the firm’s CEO, Michelle sees her role as that of “inspiring my team to believe in and build an emotive connection to the vision and purpose of the Fuel Hub”. She aims to recruit the best people and ensure they buy into the culture and mission of the firm. Every day, she works to ensure her 30-person team is inspired and motivated to deliver the goals and KPIs of the business.

So successful has the business been that in September 2022 it received a £1.2 million investment from the FTSE 250 investment platform AJBell, the founder of which, Andy Bell, already owns a two-star Michelin restaurant. He says, “A thriving business in an untapped market made this one of my easier investment decisions”. The funding is to be used to scale the business and focus on its B2B sports nutrition. As the Hub’s Chief Operating Officer, James, has observed “I know the impact the right food has on your physical and mental wellbeing, and…the investment will enable us to provide even more teams and athletes with the crucial nutrition they need to perform at the highest level”

The Fuel Hub is a profit-making commercial enterprise that ensures profit, people, and planet are in harmony with each other, thereby demonstrating the Harmonious Entrepreneurship concept.  Apart from giving lie to the belief that businesses cannot be profitable and care for people and the environment, it addresses SDGs 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and 13 (Climate Action). It does this by responding to the needs and wants of the consumer.

References

Hinchliffe, R., (2022), Andy Bell backs sports meals delivery startup. FT Adviser. August 8^th

Laithwaite, M., (2023), Michelle Laithwaite, Fuel Hub, tells us about her role in food and drink. Food Manufacture. October 2^nd.

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