Targeting personalized nutrition, meal kit makers are going all-in on health.
The latest: Lumen, makers of a handheld metabolic testing device and accompanying app, partnered with organic meal delivery service Metabolic Meals.
How it works: Get a real-time measurement with Lumen’s breath test. Get a personalized meal plan via the app, telling you (and Metabolic Meals) exactly what needs to be on your plate. That ready-to-eat food arrives at your door.
We laid out this exact scenario in Issue No. 148, explaining that nutrition is beginning to look more like a Spotify algorithm.
With personalized nutrition growing into a $64B industry, activity is heating up:
- In October 2020, Nestlé bought healthy prepared foods company Freshly for $1.5B.
- Around the same time, HelloFresh acquired Factor75, a health- and wellness-focused meal company.
- In December of last year, meal kit brand Sunbasket merged with keto lifestyle company Prüvit in a $1.3B deal.
- Trifecta gained access to CrossFit’s 6,000 affiliated US gyms after becoming official meal delivery partner this February.
Punchline: The future is hyper-personalized, and health-focused brands are going all-in. But… when it comes to what we eat, whether it’s for weight management or high performance, we’re far from answering the trillion-dollar question of what the optimal diet is.