Nestlé UK to acquire stake in prepared frozen meals marker Mindful Chef

Nestlé UK has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Mindful Chef, a manufacturer of prepared frozen meals and healthy recipe boxes.

Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed by both the companies.

With the stake acquisition in Mindful Chef, Nestlé UK aims to bolster its food and direct-to-consumer (D2C) offerings in the UK and Ireland.

Nestlé UK & Ireland CEO Stefano Agostini said: “I’m delighted to welcome the Mindful Chef team to Nestlé. Giles, Myles and Rob have built a brand with a clear purpose, offering consumers a trustworthy proposition that makes healthy eating easy through a direct-to-consumer subscription model.”

“Nestlé and Mindful Chef share an ambition to increase the availability and convenience of healthy food while paying close attention to how ingredients are sourced and reducing food waste.

“It means this is an ideal partnership for both parties as Nestlé continues to transform its portfolio and Mindful Chef accelerates its growth plans.”

Mindful Chef was established in 2015 by three school friends Giles Humphries, Myles Hopper and Robert Grieg-Gran.

Since its inception, Mindful Chef is claimed to have delivered more than 9.5 million meals to households across the UK.

According to the agreement, the three founders will continue to be shareholders and operate the business with the additional support and capabilities from Nestlé.

Some existing shareholders will also retain their stake in the company.

However, consumer brands specialist investor Piper, which invested in Mindful Chef in 2018, will exit the business.

Humphries said: “We owe a great deal to these early investors who backed our vision to make healthy eating easy for hundreds of thousands of people across the UK, and it is with great pleasure that we can now reward these investors for their support.”

The deal is expected to close by end of this year.

Upon completion of the deal, Mindful Chef will join Nestlé’s D2C portfolio of Nespresso and Nescafé Dolce Gusto.

Mindful Chef launched Series B funding round in February.

Since its Series A funding, the company has increased its revenue from £8m to £50m for FY20.

With the latest capital infusion, Mindful Chef plans to improve its consumer experience and drive greater brand awareness.