Gousto hopes consumers will see it as a rival to supermarkets with its new brand positioning, ‘convenience without compromise’.
It’s a move that sees the brand, which was founded in 2012, shift its focus away from gaining market share in the meal kit space. Instead, Gousto wants UK consumers to see it as the “smarter alternative” to traditional supermarket shopping.
Now is the “right time” to reposition its brand, chief customer officer Murray Lambell tells Marketing Week. Gousto bounced back from losses of £8m in 2022 to return to profitability in 2023 with an EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation) of £26m, followed by £42m last year.
This was achieved by pursuing a focus on profitability and cash flow above pure growth. Now, the brand has set its sights on sustainable growth.
Gousto hopes consumers will see it as a rival to supermarkets with its new brand positioning, ‘convenience without compromise’.
It’s a move that sees the brand, which was founded in 2012, shift its focus away from gaining market share in the meal kit space. Instead, Gousto wants UK consumers to see it as the “smarter alternative” to traditional supermarket shopping.
Now is the “right time” to reposition its brand, chief customer officer Murray Lambell tells Marketing Week. Gousto bounced back from losses of £8m in 2022 to return to profitability in 2023 with an EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation) of £26m, followed by £42m last year.
This was achieved by pursuing a focus on profitability and cash flow above pure growth. Now, the brand has set its sights on sustainable growth. ‘Pairing ambition with real marketing rigour’: Gousto marketing VP on profitable growth
“It’s taken a bit of time to see what trends have come through post-pandemic,” says Lambell, who joined the business as its first chief customer officer last year. “It took so long for us to come through that and get back to a more predictable way of living,” he adds.
Customers are compromising on quality for convenience, ultra-processed foods and takeaways, he says, referencing research that suggests 65% of Brits are “too busy to cook” from scratch.
The belief that people shouldn’t have to compromise when it comes to their meals is at the root of Gousto’s refreshed brand. “Clearly, good marketing is when you have a solution to a customer’s problem,” he adds.
An alternative to grocery
A new TV campaign, ‘Dinner Peace’, created with agency Mother, is at the core of Gousto’s relaunched brand, and exists to “tease” out the idea that people should “pause and rethink” their food choices. Leaning on the stresses – and humour – of a supermarket shop, it highlights Gousto as the less-painful alternative.
It’s not, however, about shaming people’s food choices. “The point to me is, ultimately, customers make decisions that are rational in the moment, and so you can’t critique that,” says Lambell.
In his first year in role, Lambell has introduced changes to the brand on a product level.
Demand for Gousto’s healthiest ranges grew 61.2% in 2024, as the brand focuses on building out its offering of different types of meals and ways of cooking them. Since last year, it’s increased its healthy options by 150%.
“We’ve done a massive menu expansion, reformulation, rethinking menus,” he explains, alongside offering customers more options to choose alternatives within meals. Gousto ‘reorientates’ to chase growth claiming success of customer focus
The new campaign also highlights its batch cooking option for customers, meaning they can meal prep with Gousto rather than putting together one-off meals, as well as introducing ‘one pot’ meals for an easier process.
Almost a year into his role at Gousto, Lambell is proud of the team’s levels of innovation. It’s testament to the team being “super focused on how the category needs to innovate and the types of food solutions we put together”, he says, and it’s having a tangible business impact, feeding through into sales results.
Ultimately, he’s passionate about making people enjoy food again. “Food is supposed to be joyful,” he reiterates, highlighting how the “key” to its business is a focus on taste.
The business is, of course, “aware” of the trend for weight-loss medication use among consumers. The grocery sector has lost an estimated £136m in food and drink spending, according to research shared by Kantar this month. Users of GLP-1 medications have cut their grocery spend by 2.2 percentage points compared to non-users.
For Lambell and Gousto, the message is clear: “Fundamentally, all of the insights show that the best way to look after your body, regardless of what medical additions you might have, is to eat consistently from scratch cooking.”
“Our job is to make sure that the vast majority of people can consistently eat well,” he adds. The business won’t be releasing a specific range for weight-loss medication users, but instead offers “a mass market solution” to the majority of people who need and want to eat well.
‘A reappraisal moment’
The campaign, and broader repositioning, offers a “reappraisal moment” for the brand and where it shows up for consumers, says Lambell. “Our job is to make sure that we show up in the most relevant ways where consumers want us to be.”
Going big on a TV ad, supported by investment in other channels like social media, represents a “much more balanced” channel mix for Gousto.
The brand will be going “much lower down in the funnel” to help grow consideration, and is using social media to highlight the “specifics” of its offering. Gousto’s new CCO on its ‘ruthless focus’ on the customer
“If I go back over my career, there’s no question this is a much more evenly weighted campaign through the different funnels,” he reflects, noting that brands shouldn’t be doing “extreme” swings. Before joining Gousto last year, he spent 17 years at Ebay, most recently as vice president and general manager for its global business selling arm.
The “crux” for this work is for Gousto to “bring in customers who quickly find that the product resonates” so that they “stick” with the brand “for longer”.
“But critically, when they come in, the way that we present our solutions means that they want to stay with us for longer, and then we retain them. We have a large group of extremely loyal customers. We think there could be a lot more,” he adds, noting that while the brand is growing, it still takes up a “fairly small part” of the overall grocery sector.
“We think a lot more customers could benefit from the types of solutions we give them for dinner,” he adds.
