54. Grubby

Social Impact Award Winner

In recognition of those startups which are putting purpose ahead of profit, with evidence of a commitment to making the world a better place with its business model.

Startups 100: Social Impact Awards

Founder: Martin Holden-White
Founded: 2019
Website: grubby.co.uk

The world needs to be eating more plants. But many people still wrongly conclude that eating vegan means living a life of sacrifice, missing out on flavour and the all-important joy of eating.

Grubby believes it doesn’t have to be this way. Based in London but delivering all around the UK, its 100% plant-based recipe box subscription service makes cooking with plants exciting, easy, and delicious.

Of course, in 2023, touting vegan or plant-based credentials isn’t quite enough to make you stand out from the crowd. But Grubby goes that much further to distinguish itself as a sustainable brand with a best-in-class focus on both environmental and social good.

Grubby's 100% plant-based recipe box subscription service makes cooking with plants exciting, easy, and delicious.

“We’re the only ones in our industry to have our recipes carbon-rated through thorough life cycle assessments of all our ingredients,” says Grubby founder Martin Holden-White. “Off the back of this, we’ve been able to launch an industry-first personalised impact dashboard for our customers to track their unique footprint versus meat equivalent meals.”

The brand supports family-run farms based only in the UK. Your mealkit won’t come loaded with ingredients where non-meaty potential is let down by guilt-inducing air miles. All the produce is grown in Kent, Essex, and Bedfordshire and food waste is offset through two food waste partners, so no food goes unused.

We're the only ones in our industry to have our recipes carbon-rated through thorough life cycle assessments of all our ingredients.

Every Grubby meal kit also comes with a healthy spoonful of good feeling. The brand started out delivering free meals to the NHS, and has since delivered over 20,000 meals to children living in poverty in Uganda through its partnership with the charity 1morechild.org.

As a result, Grubby recently achieved B-Corp certification in recognition of its status as an authentic, socially-impactful brand. But while the brand’s environmental and charitable credentials are certainly sound, its growth story is equally compelling.

“In just over two-and-a-half years, we’ve gone from delivering to a handful of customers on rickety bikes in North London, to delivering over 500,000 meals nationwide to 38,000 customers,” says Holden-White. “Grubby is creating a product that people love, and it’s achieving our mission of helping people eat more plants – that’s what I’m most proud of.”

Recipe kits are an increasingly crowded market, but Grubby now stands out as one of the highest-rated meal kit services on Trustpilot.

In just over two-and-a-half years, we’ve gone from delivering to a handful of customers on rickety bikes in North London, to delivering over 500,000 meals nationwide to 38,000 customers

“Our product requires juggling thousands of ingredients and endless product variants each week. A lot can go wrong,” Holden-White admits. “I sometimes wish we were a more straightforward service, but then I remember how exciting a position we’re in. Being at the epicentre of three super high-growth and exciting areas: vegan food, meal kits, and online grocery delivery has allowed us to bring all sorts of fantastic suppliers and backers to our table.”

We believe the future looks bright for Grubby. With a recent fund-raising round of £1.5m, the brand is perfectly poised for further growth. Consumers are increasingly conscious of the benefits of a plant-based diet, and with lip-smacking recipes arriving at UK doorsteps, Grubby customers will have a great brand to sink their teeth into.