British vegan meal kit startup Grubby has bought the recipe IP of ready-meal brand Allplants, aiming to relaunch the latter’s products shortly after its brand assets were acquired by Deliciously Ella’s founders.
The revival of popular plant-based meal company Allplants continues, with its frozen product range set to be relaunched by fellow British brand Grubby, which has acquired the rights to its recipes and manufacturing processes.
It comes nearly four months after Allplants fell into administration, which resulted in the firm’s components being broken up into three areas. Its brand, trademark, consumer database and online assets were bought up by the founders of Deliciously Ella and combined with their Plants label last month, while details about its warehouse facility haven’t been disclosed.
The recipe IP for its vegan meals, desserts, breakfast pots and sides, however, had not been part of the Plants deal, and has now been snapped up by Grubby, an extension to its existing meal kit range.
“The Allplants range is a true asset, with real consumer love and value, stretching across multiple meal occasions,” Grubby founder and CEO Martin Holden-White told Green Queen. “The products are a testament to the years of dedication from [Allplants co-founder] Jonathan Petrides and his team, and we couldn’t overlook this exciting opportunity to bring them back to the market.”
Asked when and where Grubby expects to roll out the products, he said: “We’re currently [in] discussions with a range of manufacturers and we aim to do this across multiple channels, as soon as we find the right solutions to bring the products back as consumers know and love them, under the Grubby brand.”
A win-win for both Plants and Grubby?
Founded in 2016 by brothers Alex and Jonathan Petrides, Allplants capitalised on the meal delivery boom during the Covid-19 lockdowns, and sold six million meals within the first three months of its retail debut in November 2022.
Such was its popularity, the brand amassed nearly 200,000 followers on social media, and attracted £67M in investment, with backers including professional footballers Chris Smalling and Kieran Gibbs.
However, the business recorded a loss of nearly £10M in the seven months to March 2023, which it ascribed to inflation, post-Brexit supply chain disruptions, rising interest rates, and the pursuit of profitability.
The business went into administration last November, making 65 employees redundant and working with advisory firm Interpath to find a buyer. Last month, Ella and Matthew Mills – who sold their Deliciously Ella brand to Hero Group in September – took over Allplants’s brand assets and merged it with their Plants label.
Rather than re-release Allplants’s vegan meals, though, Plants looked to capitalise on its established brand and social media following to push forward its own line of plant-based staples like pasta, sauces, kombucha and soups. It also sells two frozen ready meal SKUs in retail, and plans to expand the range and offer delivery, in response to consumer demand online.
But with Allplants’s own recipes set to return to the market under Grubby, it begs the question: which brand will be able to retain Allplants’s customers and gain access to new ones?
“The Allplants team spent years perfecting this range and there is real consumer love for the products – we simply could not let that all go to waste, and we’re delighted that they will live on,” said Holden-White.
Interpath director Natasha Harbinson added: “Allplants had a loyal following, so we’re sure their customers will be thrilled at the prospect of this range being brought back into production.”
Grubby plans to break even in 2026
Grubby’s takeover of the Allplants IP comes right after the launch of its debut cookbook and a new online marketplace where people can add grocery items to their recipe boxes.
“Our recent product expansions, including the Grubby Marketplace and our debut recipe book, have already shown strong demand for more varied plant-based options,” said Holden-White. “Integrating these products into our ecosystem creates a seamless experience for customers who want plant-based choices across all meal occasions.”
The company, founded in 2019, has sold over 100,000 meal kits, and has enjoyed a 21% year-to-date growth in revenue. Holden-White ascribed this primarily to improved customer retention, with one-year retention up by 140% in the last 12 months.
He added that the company’s EBITDA – revenue excluding all non-operational expenses – has improved by 56% year-on-year, with Grubby aiming to break even in 2026.
Although UK sales of plant-based ready meals plunged by 10% last year, the Allplants deal is part of this growth strategy, with its meals, desserts and breakfast pots making a “seamless addition” to Grubby’s ecosystem. But is Holden-White confident Grubby can achieve its goals without Allplants’s sizeable online following?
“Social media is just one piece of the puzzle. At Grubby, we’ve built a highly engaged customer community and an even larger email database, giving us direct access to a passionate audience who already love plant-based meals,” he said. “With this acquisition, we’re not just bringing back these much-loved recipes – we’re expanding our own range to offer even more convenient plant-based options.”
He added: “By leveraging our core acquisition channels, including direct-to-consumer expertise, performance marketing, and strong partnerships, we see this as a huge opportunity to attract new customers looking for high-quality, time-saving meal solutions while continuing to serve our loyal Grubby community.”
Allpants’s revival is the latest example of plant-based companies that have been rescued from the brink recently, joining the likes of Meatless Farm, VBites, Plant & Bean, and Mycorena.
The post ‘A True Asset’: Allplants Meals to Return As Fellow Vegan Brand Grubby Acquires Recipe IP appeared first on Green Queen.
This post was originally published on Green Queen.