Case Study

Rachel Jameson from Randalstown started her own business when she realised more and more people were turning to fitness during lockdown. The idea for Mean Protein was born in Spring 2020, with the core objective of helping people achieve their fitness goals through educating them on the importance of protein.

Mean Protein is a protein subscription box which comprises of a wide range of delicious protein bars, snacks, and whey from the twelve biggest and best brands in the U.K, such as FULFIL and Grenade. There is a set randomised box which most people subscribe to, but customers also have the option to have their own, more personalised box depending on their tastes or needs.

Rachel has been into a fitness ever since she started university. However, after graduation and during lockdown, she was working out more than ever before and was very conscious of how much protein she was taking in.

“I thought of Mean Protein as a great idea to teach people about the importance of protein. As there are many brands out there, I decided to compile them all into one box so that people can try them all out without the stress of shipping costs from different brands, saving up to £15 per box.”

Customers are mostly people into fitness and others subscribe simply to get extra protein into their diets for a healthy lifestyle. The idea behind it is to help people get into protein/a healthy lifestyle without having to buy from just one brand and at a cheaper price than buying protein bars from retail shops.

Since she started her business, she has faced challenges particularly with regards the difficulties of COVID stopping a lot of the trade between countries and not being able to get as many flavours as she wanted but she did not let this stop her as she made every effort to source flavours from other suppliers, enabling her to continue to provide her customers with a wide variety of flavours.

To help her on her entrepreneurial journey and to support her with these challenges, Rachel availed of support under Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council’s Business Start Up Coaching Programme. She was assigned a coach from Antrim Enterprise, who she described was inspirational, energetic and knowledgeable about business.

“The coaching gave me ideas to improve my marketing. For example, I was recommended to post some protein recipes onto Instagram which I did, and they have been a great hit and they also help to get a flow of people onto the website. Therefore, my website was boosted to the first page of Google under ‘Protein Subscription Box’ which is a great achievement.

Rachel sees the entirety of the business as a massive achievement, being able to create a brand from an idea. Having a degree in film and production, business was never something she had considered, yet now look where she is.

“If I were to think of one particular achievement, it’s when PTs come to Mean Protein on social media and ask to help promote the business. This is possibly one of the first signs of the brand getting out into the world and I look forward to seeing what comes from this”.

Rachel is positive she will continue to build her client base once the gyms start to reopen and expects to see more customers visiting the website and subscribing. She is also hoping to launch a new protein bar only box soon, so watch this space!