Vegan recipe kit brand Grubby is preparing to relaunch the Allplants range of plant-based meals after swooping to pick up the exclusive rights to the failed company’s recipes and manufacturing methods.
The frozen ready meals, sides, breakfast pots and desserts developed by Allplants will make a comeback under the Grubby brand thanks to the deal for the recipe IP struck with administrators at Interpath.
It follows Deliciously Ella founder Ella Mills buying the Allplants brand and associated assets last month to combine with her Plants business. That deal included the Allplants trademark, customer database, website and social media accounts, but not the recipes.
Grubby founder Martin Holden-White said he had seized the opportunity to continue Allplants’ legacy of plant-based innovation, as part of wider plans to expand his company’s own product offering across multiple channels and eating occasions.
“We see this acquisition as a fantastic opportunity to bring these much-loved products back to life for customers across both DTC and retail, while honouring the incredible work [Allplants founder] Jonathan Petrides and his team did in developing them,” he added.
“The Allplants team spent years perfecting this range and there is real consumer love for the products. We simply could not let that all go to waste, and we’re delighted that they will live on, as part of the Grubby brand.”
Holden-White started Grubby in 2019 and has this year expanded beyond its core vegan recipe kit offering to publish a plant-based cookbook and a new marketplace on its website, where customers can buy grocery items to add to their orders.
Today, the business sells to more than 100,000 customers and is projecting to generate sales of almost £5m this year.
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“Bringing the Allplants offer into the Grubby ecosystem makes perfect sense, as we know our customers want more plant-based options beyond dinner, and it continues our collective mission to make plant-based eating more convenient, accessible, and delicious,” Holden-White said.
“Desserts and breakfast pot options have already proven popular on our growing Grubby marketplace offer online, making the products developed by Allplants a seamless addition.
“This acquisition forms part of our growth strategy to offer convenient, high-quality solutions across all meal occasions, solidifying Grubby as the go-to brand for plant-based meals, and everything in between.”
Interpath director Natasha Harbinson, who led the transaction on behalf of the joint administrators, said: “Allplants had a loyal following, so we’re sure their customers will be thrilled at the prospect of this range being brought back into production.”
Grubby is currently in discussions with manufacturing partners to help produce the Allplants range.
Allplants had amassed a loyal following when it dramatically collapsed in November last year, having burned through £67m in investment.
Plants took on the social media channels of the brand last month in the hope of creating “a new, natural, plant-based powerhouse”.
A post on Instagram announcing the news attracted hundreds of comments from Allplants’ 115,000 followers asking if the deal meant the Allplants meals would be making a return.
Plants, which sells veggie burgers and bites, fresh & dry pasta, sauces and pesto in Waitrose, Ocado and Whole Foods, has since announced plans to expand its own frozen ready meal offering in response to the demand.
Its two SKUs (Cauliflower & Lentil Dhal and Five Bean Chilli) are currently only available in retail, but Plants said it was now working on a project to expand the range and also offer DTC delivery.
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