Start Me Up Series

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.

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!