Bespoke meal company that is delivering on a healthy ambition CLEAN CUT MEALS
Business: Clean Cut Meals Set up: 2015 Founders: Micheal Dyer and Conor McCallion Turnover: €1.4m No of Employees: 10 Location: Galway
AS I drove into Dublin city at 6.30am one day last week, I passed WestWood fitness Centre. There was a queue of cars out onto the road trying to get parking. It got me thinking about fitness, diet and the New Year resolutions that people make. I thought about my own regime and wondered if I was doing enough.
Further on down the road, I saw a huge billboard advertising veganism and designed to encourage us to stop eating animal-based foods, including dairy. That multiplied the thoughts in my mind about how the world is changing.
I couldn’t help pondering on the impact of this health and wellness agenda on the business world. There will always be winners and losers, runners and riders, trends on the up — and on the way out.
And there will always be profits and losses. I’m sure my friends in Glanbia, being the largest milk producer in Ireland — along with the very important Irish dairy industry as a whole — will be watching this disruption very closely. CLEAN CUT MEALS On January 5, 2015, two college pals came together and launched their new business with a bang. They are two of the most enthusiastic and animated entrepreneurs that I’ve met and their passion is infectious.
Being conscientious millennials who want to live and eat healthily, they were disappointed with the foods that were available to them.
Clearly Micheal Dyer and Conor McCallion are not complete health freaks, as it was over a few pints on a Saturday afternoon that their idea for Clean Cut Meals was born.
Their business is all about readymade healthy food in bespoke meal plans, for those wanting to be more healthy.
With Micheal having studied culinary arts and Conor having studied hotel management in Galway GMIT, they started out in what they describe initially as a ‘me-too’ healthy food business.
They initially conducted market research by doing tastings and an online survey.
Within their first week, they got 3,000 ‘likes’ on Facebook. This inspired them to get going and build the business. Their thinking evolved as the business grew and they realised that their purpose was actually to change people’s lives.
They’re now doing that for about 550 regular customers who spend an average of €105 per week on a seven-day three-meal plan. THE BUSINESS MODEL This is mainly an online business, although the business does have a multiple retail range in Joyce’s su- permarkets across Galway. The batch cooking is done mainly at the weekend. They then despatch orders on Sunday nights to arrive to the homes or offices of customers around the country on Mondays. Each consignment will have instructions and clear labelling for how to microwave or cook the meals.
I received a sample delivery last week and was initially amazed at the attention to detail, the packaging and the presentation. The menu mix and quality of food is also very impressive.
It’s a subscriber model, where customers engage for a healthy-eating programme.
One of their USPs is to make changes every week, to keep the programme interesting. Within a week of the first order, customers get a call from a nutrition expert to have a one-to-one discussion about their goals and lifestyle.
With this information, recommendations are made for a healthy-eating plan. Regardless of whether the goal is to lose weight, build muscle or to improve health, the advice will be realistic and honest.
“Managing expectations, being honest and working with the customer over time is our mantra. We genuinely want to improve lives so we’re always available to our customers to listen to them and offer further advice when they need it,” said McCallion.
“Distribution is critical and is obviously outsourced to a courier service. I constantly challenge my clients to ensure that they give excellent service at all touch-points. Using third-party outsource partners presents a risk to that.”
“We are on a huge learning curve here and we have every intention of being the best we can be, so customer feedback is essential to us,” said Dyer. THE FUTURE The market for convenience food is likely to continue to grow with economic growth and full employment.
So also is the focus on healthy eating, with the next generation being extremely health conscious.
We hear lots about the levels of obesity in Ireland, so inevitably that focus will become even more apparent over time.
What this business has achieved in just three years is truly extraordinary and the ambition is to increase the subscriber base this year from 550 to 750, which will generate sales in the region of €3m to €4m.
The model is working and already, the owners are exploring the potential for their business in western Europe.
Shelf life and improved packaging will play a big part in that. Due to Brexit, UK is not on the radar right now.