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Feeding Team GB and winning at the FMEAs: Fuel Hub CEO Michelle Laithwaite interview
Founded in August 2019 by married couple Michelle and James Laithwaite, Fuel Hub specialises in the production of nutritious, protein-rich prepared meals for the average consumer and professional athletes alike.
With a client list that includes Chelsea Football Club, England Rugby and Team GB, among many others, the business has come a long way in a short amount of time – a fact that was recognised in February 2024 at the FMEAs when Fuel Hub earned the Site Team of the Year prize.
Now a few months on from the big win, Laithwaite reflects on five years in business and looks ahead to what comes next.
You can enter this years’ FMEAs now, with the ceremony set to be held on 6 February 2025 at the London Hilton, Bankside.
‘Commercial kitchen to manufacturer’
As something of outsiders to the food and drink manufacturing industry, the past five years have been a journey of discovery for the Laithwaite couple. While Michelle spent much of her career before Fuel Hub working in global fashion, James was a professional rugby league player until 2019 when he was forced to retire due to injury.
Both, however, shared a passion for food and spotted a gap in the market, which they have subsequently filled.
“We were so focused on the consumer for the first three years of our existence,” Laithwaite told Food Manufacture.
“Our D2C business grew quickly and organically from the start, and Warrington Wolves came on as our first B2B client in August 2019 thanks to James’ contacts at the club. Today we have around 50 professional teams on our roster as well as several Olympic athletes.”
Fuel Hub secured its first round of external investment in 2022 and immediately put that money into expanding its team and moving into a larger 15,000ft2 factory in Warrington. Looking back, Laithwaite feels this was a pivotal moment for the business.
“We went from being a commercial kitchen to becoming a manufacturer,” she explained. “This was a costly and at times difficult transition, but it was worth it.”
On why she thinks the firm has been able to build such an impressive portfolio of clients in just five years, Laithwaite added: “Our use of premium produce and technology to calculate macronutrients in each meal is key to our success. We design different meal plans for individual sports, which ensures we offer an accessible experience for customers at any level.”
Winners at the FMEAs
Since entering the sector, Laithwaite has been keen to learn from and engage with the wider F&B industry. This attracted her to the Food Manufacture Business Leaders’ Forum in 2023 and that experience subsequently inspired Fuel Hub to apply for the FMEAs in the Site Team of the Year category.
“We now have a team of 30 people here and while the sales and marketing roles are often seen as more glamourous, the site team are the people who actually make the product and keep the business running,” Laithwaite explained.
“As we have grown and scaled, they have continually evolved and exhibited a can-do attitude that is so important, and I wanted to ensure they got the recognition they deserve.”
The application process starts with an entry form online, which is then assessed by a panel of judges comprising industry veterans and experts.
The finalists are chosen and the winners of each of the 15 categories, including Site Team of the Year, are then revealed at a glamourous awards ceremony in London.
“The site team was so delighted with the recognition,” Laithwaite said.
“And I have seen a real difference since then. I think that winning the award has bred a level of confidence and conviction across the business that we can achieve anything.”
Work at Fuel Hub has continued apace since February, with Laithwaite building industry contacts and looking for new channels to potentially expand into.
“High protein, convenient meals with sustainable packaging are really in demand right now,” she said.
“This, coupled with the growing awareness and recognition of our brand puts us in a really exciting position. There are lots of exciting avenues that we want to explore and I hope to be able to announce more good news soon.”
To end the interview, we asked what advice she would offer to a business thinking about entering the FMEAs this time around: “Be authentic and honest about your journey. I didn’t know what to expect and how we would compare to other entries, but I think our application was very genuine and true to who we are.”
Entries for the 2025 Food Manufacture Excellence Awards close on the 23 September 2024.
This event is kindly supported by headline sponsor and business and accountancy firm, Menzies, and event sponsors Niras – a multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy – Quor Systems – software management experts and providers, and Watermill Press – a BRCIOP food packaging approved label convertor.
