Weight loss feeds Diet Chef’s business growth
New weight loss trials being undertaken by Edinburgh-based company, Diet Chef, hope to see the company increase its sales by 65 per cent over the next year and employ a further 12 staff to service the additional demand for its products.
This announcement comes during a visit today, Tuesday 26th July, by Fergus Ewing, Minister for Enterprise and Scottish Enterprise chairman Crawford Gillies, to hear first hand about the company’s ambitious growth plans.
Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International have worked closely with the company since it began trading in 2008. During this time, the account managed company has achieved significant growth year-on-year, with turnover of £9.5 million in 2010 to £16 million forecast for the current year.
Diet Chef provides a complete calorie-controlled meal programme delivered directly to the consumer to support weight loss. With help from Scottish Enterprise’s innovation support service, the company is conducting controlled trials to validate its weight loss plan.
Despite the UK market still being relatively small, currently estimated at £25 million, the market is doubling every year. Diet Chef has one major competitor and, between these companies, they represent 90 per cent of the UK market. In the US, the delivered diet market is estimated at £1 billion.
The trials of Diet Chef products are being carried out independently by the University of Hull, which has a recognised reputation in this type of activity. It will compare participant’s weight loss, tolerance and acceptance of a delivered energy controlled diet compared to more common self-directed or text-based booklet diet models. The anticipated results will demonstrate and confirm to the consumer that Diet Chef is a better way to lose weight compared to more conventional diet models.
Andrew Veitch, co-founder of Diet Chef, stated, “Maintaining a healthy weight and reducing the rate of obesity in the western world are major public health concerns for all health care providers, employers and governments. We can help tackle these issues and offer a real solution, based on robust research and trial results.
“When I think of how far we’ve come as a business over the last three years, it’s fair to say that we wouldn’t have got here as quickly without the help of Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International. They really get where we’re coming from as a business and where we want to be. They’ve helped us access the right support, put us in touch with the right people, and all at the right time. That’s what’s made the real difference to our growth.”
Over the last three years, Scottish Enterprise has worked intensively with the company to support its ambitious global growth plans. In particular, assistance with IT support, corporate branding and research into new international markets has been provided. Support is now focused on an organisational development project to sustain and develop the entrepreneurial culture fostered by the company’s founding directors.
Crawford Gillies, chairman of Scottish Enterprise said, “Diet Chef is exactly the sort of company we want to work with. Despite the challenging economic conditions of the last few years, it has demonstrated exceptional growth in its first three years. With its strong culture of continuous innovation and forward thinking leadership team, it looks set to continue this same pace of growth in the future.
“At Scottish Enterprise, we focus on supporting businesses with real potential to grow – companies like Diet Chef. These are the companies that have the ambition, leadership and capability to achieve high growth, and in turn help grow our economy.”
Enterprise Minister Fergus Ewing commented, “Diet Chef is a great example of a Scottish company that’s succeeding in the current challenging economic climate.
“And after speaking to the people behind the business I’m convinced that there are greater things to come, especially as Diet Chef tries to break into new markets abroad.
“Scottish Enterprise has played its part in this success and it continues to do so.
“What’s most impressive about this company is the desire to succeed outside the UK market and it’s this kind of ambition that will help Scotland’s economy expand in the future.”
Scottish Enterprise recently worked with the University of Strathclyde on research into the impact high growth firms, similar to Diet Chef, could have on the Scottish economy. The research identified 825 high growth firms located in Scotland – a figure broadly in line with other similar sized economies.
Although they make up just four per cent of the business population in Scotland, the research highlighted the positive disproportionate contribution these high growth companies make to economic growth, collectively employing almost half a million people.