74. Mealia Food shopping often results in bad choices and wasted food. Mealia is an AI Grocery Agent that plans meals and shops for groceries for you. Written by Helena Young Sponsored by Sage Published on January 12, 2026 About the Startups 100 Now in its 18th year, the Startups 100 is the definitive list of the most promising new UK businesses. There's no fee for entry or for inclusion in our index. The Startups team of new business experts judge all our top 100 entrants in collaboration with specialist industry consultants. See our guide to this year’s hottest new businesses and most exceptional founders in the complete 2026 Startups 100 index. Founders: Gabriel Corbett and Rish ChowdhryYear founded: 2022Website: mealia.co.ukFood insecurity and increasing costs are hitting families across the UK hard. While pivoting from another business idea, Mealia founders Gabriel Corbett and Rish Chowdhry decided they could do something to help.The Mealia app makes it easier for families by creating a meal plan and a grocery basket for selected supermarkets. The app mitigates the time pressure, choice overwhelm and financial restraints that were forcing families into making poor choices that then impacted their health.“Every household faces the daily challenge of deciding what to eat and buy,” say the founders. “It’s the most important decision we make each day for ourselves and our families, yet also one of the most complex”. Every household faces the daily challenge of deciding what to eat and buy, For time and money-poor households, the app uses AI to shop both economically and efficiently. “They share their needs and available resources, and the app creates a meal plan and grocery basket from selected supermarkets – optimised for cost, health, and sustainability – in seconds,” the team adds.The venture got off the ground with a small grant from the Mayor of London, the city where the duo was based, and they then raised a pre-seed round with participation from Founders Factory, Nesta, Angel Invest, and a group of experienced angel backers.The team has also worked with charities and local authorities across the country to give access to the app. Having now reached 100,000 users, the startup wants to be “the default way the world decides what to eat and buy”, partnered with every major supermarket and embedded into national health and sustainability strategies. Already, it has earned affiliate agreements with Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Morrisons. Every week we spend 30 minutes with six different users, and it’s humbling to hear how Mealia is making life easier for families across the country, Beyond growth, though, the business is most proud of its customer feedback. “Every week we spend 30 minutes with six different users, and it’s humbling to hear how Mealia is making life easier for families across the country,” the founders say proudly.View the full Startups 100 Index for 20261. Omnea2. HIVED3. MAGIC AI4. OXCCU5. Lightyear6. Neuranics 7. Hormona8. Burbank9. Better Dairy 10. Lenkie Technologies11. Userled12. Hoxton Farms13. Rensair14. PulpaTronics15. TradeKart16. 32Co17. Carmoola18. cheqd19. Sightline Analytics20. Adamo Foods21. Bold Bean Co22. Beams Renovation 23. Pan Galactic24. Capi Money25. Spotted Zebra26. ANTHROTEK 27. Unravel28. Perci Health29. Untap Health30. Hair Syrup31. Connect Earth 32. spacebands 33. Unfabled34. Lightning Reach35. STOCKED36. Embeddable37. XR Therapeutics38. Literal Labs39. Scooch40. Openr41. Fibe Limited42. Inicio AI43. Peachies44. Better Nature 45. Ctrl Alt46. Resting Reef47. Nila48. ROXFIT49. Finmile50. NavLive51. Volunteero52. Inntelo AI53. Zonova54. A&B Smart Materials55. Ethicronics56. Treeapp57. kennek58. Soil Benchmark59. Vox Aeris60. Asan Cup61. Nuuri62. Mindstone63. MYNDUP64. Enbiosis Biotechnology65. JUX Food66. Danu Robotics67. Wylde Market68. Air Aware Labs69. Mimicrete Ltd70. ALYVE71. Happl72. Living Things73. Grub Club Pets74. Mealia75. PetProov76. Lylo Products77. Chest78. ZIM Connections79. Uptime Labs80. Teal81. Zero Fintech82. Micro Thermal Energy 83. Kanjo 84. Merlin Cloud85. My Skin Feels86. Eleria87. Cashblack88. RevvedUp89. Cosysense90. SuperFi91. Loom92. Legacy Compass93. Meshed94. SWURF95. Main Squeeze96. Sampl Technologies97. Over the Moo98. Pioneering People99. Bikebook100. Recondition Share this post facebook twitter linkedin Tags 2026 Written by: Helena Young Deputy Editor Helena is Deputy Editor at Startups. She oversees all news and supporting content on Startups, and is also the author of the weekly Startups email newsletter, delivering must-know SME updates straight to their inbox. From interviewing Wetherspoon's boss Tim Martin to spotting data-led working from home trends, her insight has been featured by major trade publications including the ICAEW, and news outlets like the BBC, ITV News, Daily Express, and HuffPost UK. With a background in PR and marketing, Helena is particularly passionate about giving early-stage startups a platform to boost their brands. That's one reason she manages the Startups 100 Index, our annual ranking of new UK businesses. Sponsored by: Sage Startups 100 Index Sponsor 2026 Sage exists to knock down barriers so everyone can thrive, starting with the millions of Small and Mid-Sized Businesses served by us, our partners and accountants. Customers trust our finance, HR and payroll software to make work and money flow. By digitising business processes and relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, banks and governments, our digital network connects SMBs, removing friction and delivering insights. Knocking down barriers also means we use our time, technology and experience to tackle digital inequality, economic inequality and the climate crisis.