By Jon Robinson

Copyright cityam

Mindful Chef, the meal kit business and rival to the likes of HelloFresh and Gousto, has surged back into the black and posted its first profit since 2021.

The London-headquartered business has reported a pre-tax profit of £10.8m for 2024, up from the £1.7m loss it made in the prior 12 months.

It also lost £7.4m in 2022 and had previously last made a pre-tax profit in 2021 with a total of £39.8m.

The meal kit retailer was founded by friends Rob Grieg-Gran, Myles Hopper and Giles Humphries in 2015.

In November 2020 it was announced that a majority stake in the business had been acquired by Nestlé.

New accounts filed with Companies House also show Mindful Chef’s turnover increased in 2024 from £50.9m to £55.9m.

‘We recognise the continued risks posed by the 2024 Budget’

Mindful Chef said it focused on “profitable growth by improving efficiencies and reducing operational costs” in the year.

It added: “The directors are pleased with this result, particularly with the focus driving profitable and sustainable growth.

“This performance also marks a return to growth following a period of stabilisation since the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent churn of those large customer cohorts.”

It added: “The directors view the financial success of 2024 as a reflection of the long-term investment in operational efficiencies and the customer experience.

“These have aligned to drive profitable growth sustainably as we continue to delight our customers with our premium offering and diversity our income streams.”

On its future, Mindful Chef said: “The directors are confident in the ongoing long-term strategy to focus on high quality healthy food.

“The directors recognise the continued risks posed by the 2024 Budget and the wider economic outlook and the impact this could have on business performance.

“The company continues to stretch the brand and diversify its offering to support the company mission to help make healthy eating easy for as many people as possible.”

How Mindful Chef’s competition has fared

In September last year, City AM reported that the UK arm of Hellofresh significantly cut its pre-tax loss as its turnover edged closer to the £500m mark and it cut 15 per cent of its workforce.

The business reported a pre-tax loss of £755,000 for 2023 after posting a loss of £22.1m in 2022.

Its latest set of accounts are due to be filed by the end of the month.

In July this year, City AM also reported that Gousto made a pre-tax loss of £20.3m in 2024, down from the £75.6m loss in made in 2024.

That figure came after Gousto lost £157.5m in 2022 and almost £20m in 2021.

The last time Gousto reported a pre-tax profit was the £1m it achieved in the year to 25 December, 2020.

Gousto’s revenue increased in the year from £309m to £312m.