Meal kit provider Gousto wants to “compete directly with the supermarkets” as it eyes growth after focusing more recently on profitability.
Meal kit brand Gousto has declared itself in its “best shape ever” thanks to its renewed customer focus, as it reports a second year of profitability and record earnings.
The category the brand operates in has not been without challenges, particularly post-pandemic when meal habits changed and the cost of living crisis kicked in. Gousto was not immune to these difficulties, with the business recording losses of £8m in 2022.
Two years ago saw the brand return to profitability, recording EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxation, deprecation and amortisation) of £26m. That profitability has continued in 2024 with the brand reporting “record” EBITDA of £42m, as detailed in its full year results shared today (1 July).
Meal kit brand Gousto has declared itself in its “best shape ever” thanks to its renewed customer focus, as it reports a second year of profitability and record earnings.
The category the brand operates in has not been without challenges, particularly post-pandemic when meal habits changed and the cost of living crisis kicked in. Gousto was not immune to these difficulties, with the business recording losses of £8m in 2022.
Two years ago saw the brand return to profitability, recording EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxation, deprecation and amortisation) of £26m. That profitability has continued in 2024 with the brand reporting “record” EBITDA of £42m, as detailed in its full year results shared today (1 July).
Amidst what Gousto termed a “challenging” backdrop in 2024, the brand focused on profitability and cash flow over growth. However, towards the back end of last year, the brand made a decision to “reorientate back to growth”.Gousto’s new CCO on its ‘ruthless focus’ on the customer
Despite the focus on profitability last year, the brand did manage to grow revenues by 1% to £312m, versus £309m the year before. This came as it saw “increased trading momentum” towards the end of the year as it took steps towards growth.
Gousto’s success in meeting its goals in 2024 was due to its “singular focus on giving the customer more of what they want”, the brand said. Speaking to Marketing Week at the end of last year, Gousto chief customer officer Murray Lambell said the brand has a “ruthless focus” on customer and was concentrating on offering increased choice as well as convenience to drive success.
Commenting on the 2024 results released today, founder and CEO Timo Boldt said that investing in technology and data science had been “the great unlock” to helping the business “meet customers’ growing demands for healthy, convenient meals through unrivalled recipe choice, alongside a financially strong, growing business with a double digit profit margin”.
‘Challenging the supermarkets’
While 2024 was about a focus on profitability, 2025 is about driving growth for Gousto.
Indeed, it sees a runway for growth beyond just taking share of the meal kit sector, and believes it “can compete directly with the supermarkets and takeaways for the broader dinner market”.
In terms of product proposition, the brand claims it is “streets ahead” of its competitors in the meal kit category and that it is “increasingly challenging the supermarkets”.
“Our goal is not to be just the largest recipe kit provider but to fundamentally reshape the mainstream dinner market,” says Boldt.
“The goal is huge and we will win share of the evening meal market through a relentless focus on the customer and continued improvements to the drivers of choice, convenience and health.”
For 2025, the company is targeting revenue growth of between five and 10%, and continue improving its EBITDA and free cashflow. The business says it’s on target to meet that goal so far this financial year.
