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In each working full-time and making an attempt to keep up a stable basis for a well being and health journey, Tushar Menon and his brother, Nishant Menon, seen that for time-poor shoppers like them there have been no choices within the Australian marketplace for wholesome, hearty, excessive protein prepared meals.
Whereas there have been prepared meals supposed to advertise weight reduction, there was a spot available in the market for energetic shoppers who required extra vitality.
With the added incentive of wanting to begin their very own enterprise, My Muscle Chef was born in 2013.
The important thing parts the brothers wished to handle have been time on the one hand, and comfort on the opposite. Moreover, on the time the corporate started, shopping for a wholesome meal was costly.
However My Muscle Chef co-founder and CEO, Tushar Menon, mentioned earlier than they might overcome these elements, there was a steep studying curve.
“The largest problem once we began was that we didn’t have any expertise available in the market; it was an enormous studying curve to grasp the necessities of working a meals enterprise,” he mentioned. “Additionally, the actual fact was that we have been coping with a perishable product, so it couldn’t be produced in massive runs and saved in an ambient facility. Our meals have been frozen on the time however nonetheless perishable, so understanding transportation and storage and the best way to produce it in a protected atmosphere was important.”
Nearly ten years later, having attained a sound understanding of those logistics has benefitted the enterprise. It additionally translated once they ventured into producing contemporary meals slightly than frozen. Desirous to steer away from a modified environment packaging (MAP) sealed mannequin – which makes use of a tray with a prime seal that preserves the product for 10-12 days – My Muscle Chef turned to hoover pores and skin packaging to keep up high quality, delay the shelf life and help with logistics.
Vacuum pores and skin packaging goals to maintain the oxygen out of the product, which preserves it for 14 days and ensures the flavour is nearly as good on the use by date as it’s when produced.
After researching and finding suppliers, they trialled the packaging.
“The trials have been profitable and at first, we have been a little bit unsure as a result of nobody in Australia was doing that but for prepared meals,” Menon mentioned. “However we have been assured the positives would outweigh the rest, and it was the very best choice we ever made.
“The standard of the product when vacuum sealed is second to none and the meals doesn’t transfer round, so from a presentation perspective it was nice and from a style and high quality perspective it was unimaginable.”
Constructing a connection
One other vital facet in constructing the enterprise has been forming clear relationships with companions and suppliers, particularly in delivering their chilly chain merchandise. Menon says one of many greatest challenges has been making certain that the right temperature is maintained from when the product leaves the ability to when the shopper receives it. They key to this communication with a trusted community of companions and suppliers.
“Delivering chilly chain merchandise is at all times difficult. Sustaining that temperature from begin to end is vital for our merchandise,” he mentioned. “We’re very fortunate that we’ve an awesome staff that we’ve labored with for some time now who perceive our necessities and our excessive requirements when it comes to customer support.
“We’ve constructed that relationship over a protracted time frame, and it runs easily. Should you don’t get that proper, it’s a big problem as a result of in any other case you might be chasing inventory throughout the nation. Having clear visibility is vital and that may be a energy for us. Our supply success price is at over 99 per cent.”
The ready-made meals producer now distributes greater than three million wholesome and contemporary meals, drinks, and snacks per 30 days to over 4,500 suburbs nationwide.
Menon vastly attributes this success to buyer analysis, which was performed in 2018 to higher perceive their goal market and why prospects selected to buy their merchandise. This had an enormous impression on the My Muscle Chef model.
“The actual turning level for us was once we spent a while reflecting on what we have been doing properly and what our subsequent steps have been shifting ahead, and an enormous a part of that was shifting towards a extra data-driven method and actually understanding who our prospects are,” Menon mentioned.
“The analysis actually blew us away – we at all times assumed our goal buyer was the gymnasium goer targeted on efficiency, well being and health. However we discovered 60 per cent of our prospects ordered our merchandise for comfort.”
This invaluable information gave the producer a transparent route: slightly than promoting My Muscle Chef as a fitness-focused model, they broadened their attraction and product vary to replicate “Each Physique, Each Objective.”
Additionally, because of the stigma surrounding frozen meals, as soon as the enterprise shifted in the direction of producing contemporary prepared meals and prolonged their vary of merchandise, they have been capable of attain a wider viewers and the model’s progress started to skyrocket.
High quality and automation
Though My Muscle Chef began out in a small kitchen in Potts Level in Sydney, the enterprise’ progress has allowed them to accommodate plans to construct a brand new facility in Yennora, the place they’re now based mostly. This facility will merge each manufacturing and distribution beneath one roof and assist meet the ever-increasing demand.
“It will likely be a custom-built web site and accommodate our present plans and progress expectations. Loads of our challenges will likely be eradicated by creating extra effectivity and automating our new facility, which could be very thrilling,” Menon mentioned.
Automating their processes will allow clear traceability on the standard of the merchandise, from begin to end in each product, batch, and ingredient.
“It’s good to know the place the substances are coming from, what all of the batches are, once they have been produced and once they have been dispatched, giving us full visibility. We factored that into the brand new web site to make sure we’ve the correct know-how and processes to guard and enhance our high quality,” Menon mentioned.
“High quality is the primary precedence. Having scaled up so rapidly, it might have been straightforward to jeopardise high quality – however the staff have executed an outstanding job to verify at each level that high quality is primary. It doesn’t matter how good your advertising is – in case your product isn’t any good, the shopper received’t purchase it.”
High quality is an attribute that extends throughout the My Muscle Chef enterprise, together with within the produce. All their fruit, greens, and meat, together with beef, rooster, and fish, is sourced inside Australia, and delivered every day. And whereas automation is concerned, Menon says that their level of distinction is in how the meals are cooked and offered – with care.
“One piece of suggestions we at all times get from prospects is that it tastes like dwelling cooked meals, and we love listening to that as a result of the way in which our manufacturing is ready up, we produce it like a large-scale restaurant,” he mentioned. “It isn’t a closely processed product, and the meals additionally seems very appetising due to how we deal with the product and the substances we use.”
Muscling ahead
Since setting out in 2013, My Muscle Chef has succeeded in turning into a wholesome, handy, inexpensive choice for time-poor shoppers who’re in search of a contemporary meal that tastes simply nearly as good as one they might cook dinner at dwelling.
“We acquired loads of suggestions from prospects who have been keen to seek out My Muscle Chef merchandise they might choose up on the go,” Menon mentioned. “Clients now settle for you may get a wholesome, high quality, home-style prepared meal and I feel the sector as an entire has been doing a very good job of lifting product notion.”
The main focus for the prepared meals producer now could be rising model consciousness, beginning with a “Robust Like This” advertising marketing campaign. Centred on educating Australian shoppers that good vitamin is a key a part of sustaining psychological and emotional well being in addition to bodily well being, the marketing campaign was launched in February to resoundingly optimistic suggestions.
“I feel that is the beginning of an entire new chapter for My Muscle Chef and it’s actually going to assist us to achieve extra Australians and develop our model,” Menon mentioned. “The sky is the restrict for our enterprise. Now we have achieved some nice issues up to now, off the again of some improbable high quality merchandise. Now that we’ve a really targeted advertising and model technique, we’re excited to see what number of extra households we are able to faucet into.”
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