A Melbourne dad who once struggled in the kitchen has gone on to build a multimillion-dollar food empire after helping out a few mates in hospitality during the city’s multiple lockdowns.
Billy Green, 30, said, like many single parents, he found himself having to juggle work, home schooling and cooking when the pandemic first hit the country.
With a limited repertoire in the kitchen, he and his eight-year-old son would often head out for dinner. This wasn’t an option when lockdown restrictions were in place, so he turned to meal kit subscription services.
“Put simply – they were terrible. They were bland and the produce was not fresh,” Billy said.
“The straw that broke the camel’s back was when I opened a box and staring back at me was a rotten lemon.”
The young dad then had a light-bulb moment that would eventually see him become the unlikely head of a $5 million meal kit subscription service called Make-Out Meals.
After he struggled to find decent meals, Billy turned to some of his friends in the hospitality industry.
“I leaned on them to steer me in the right direction and introduce me to contacts,” Billy said.
He then started to cold call restaurants day and night to see if they had any interest in selling their recipes.
Billy had a desire to help the hospitality industry in Melbourne survive Covid lockdown by creating a meal kit business that would sell popular meal recipes with ingredients sourced from local providores.
Admittedly, Billy said some chefs and owners were sceptical of the idea but after building their trust, Make-Out Meals was finally born.
“They wouldn’t risk their restaurant’s reputation by lending their name to a project unless it was up to their high standards,” he said.
And in just 18 months it has completely “blown up” with Billy having to quit his full-time corporate job in marketing to focus on his new venture.
“Right from the start it had legs. Every time a new lockdown was announced, order numbers would just quadruple over night,” Billy told news.com.au.
“Out of lockdown the numbers remained stable too.”
The kits include meals from popular Melbourne restaurants Bomba, LadyBoy Dining, Oasis and Tipico. Last month was the busiest for the company on record – with one week alone serving more than 1000 plates of food.
“So there’s still a massive appetite in the market for quality meal kit options,” Billy said.
He said the biggest difference between his company and that of his competitors was the recipes.
“The recipes are straight from real chefs and top restaurants,” Billy said. “We also work with the same suppliers that supply the restaurants, so the ingredients are premium.”
All customers have to do is whip up the meals.
Billy said customer service was important and his company aimed to troubleshoot problems on the same day of complaints.
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“We’re not perfect, so anytime there’s an issue, we will aim to have it fixed on the same day and that’s usually the big reason people come back to us.”
Following its successful launch in Victoria the company has expanded into New South Wales and the ACT by enlisting heavyweight restaurants including Fei Jai, Zigi’s Wine Bar and Foodie del Mar.
The company also announced it will raise up to $1 million via Birchal equity crowd-funding with its post-money valuation at $5 million. The money raised will go towards its expansion into Queensland.
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