Premium meal prep delivery firm FuelHub has launched a new food brand for children aged between four and 11.
The Warrington-based business was founded in 2019 by former rugby league player James Laithwaite and his future wife Michelle on the day their son Stanley was born.
Seven years later, the business has a turnover of £6.5m, employs 50 people, makes 23,000 meals a week and has a partnership with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom.
In July, the husband-and-wife team made BusinessCloud’s Founder 250 list, which celebrates 250 of the UK’s best founder-led and founder-influenced businesses.
CEO Michelle Laithwaite said their son Stanley and his school friends played a key role in the launch of FuelHub JNR.
She explained: “They tasted, tested, challenged, rejected, changed and approved.
“If the juniors didn’t love it, it didn’t launch. And now, here it is. FuelHub JNR. Premium meal prep created for juniors, by juniors… with a little help from our nutritionists.”
Michelle said FuelHub JNR represented a tasty and healthy alternative to ‘air fryer chicken, pizza, beans on toast or something quick from the freezer’.
She added: “With the endless after-school demands, hobbies, clubs and homework, I kept coming back to the same question: why can’t feeding our kids something healthy and delicious be just as easy and convenient?
“So I brought in our product manager, Sarah Ekin, to the project, and together with our product and technical teams, we got to work bringing JNR to life.”
FuelHub JNR meal options include ‘winner, winner, chicken dinner’, chicken katsu and cheeseburger and chips.
COO James Laithwaite said: “According to recent studies more than one in three children are overweight or living with obesity by the time they leave primary school.
“That’s why we created a range of high-protein, nutritious meals made without ultra-processed ingredients, artificial flavours or preservatives, designed for school children aged 4-11.
“Led by our son Stanley and some of his school friends, they tasted, tested and approved every meal. If the juniors didn’t love it, it didn’t launch. The result is a range of properly portioned meals that children actually want to eat, ready in just three minutes.”
The co-founders shared their stories on BusinessCloud’s Naked Founder podcast in May.