Leon co-founder and former food tsar Henry Dimbleby has warned that a shift to unhealthier options could “destroy” the food-to-go brand in the long term.
Dimbleby co-founded Leon in 2004 before selling it in 2021 to EG Group. Leon was then sold to EG Group’s sister company Asda in October 2023 as part of a wider deal where the supermarket giant acquired most of EG Group’s UK operations.
Speaking with The Telegraph, Dimbleby noted a recent Leon social media post, which featured chips in an air fryer.
He told the newspaper: “I know how easy it is to be sucked down into just going for the thing that’s tasty, the sugar, the salt, something that’s cheap.
“What they’ve gone to here is they’ve realised chips sell, air fryers sell, that’s the cheapest way to make money. But in the long term, that’s going to destroy the brand.”
Dimbleby has long been a key figure and advocate for healthier eating. In 2020, he led the government-commissioned independent review of the food system, the National Food Strategy.
However, he said Leon had shifted away from its aim to sell “delicious food that is convenient and healthy”.
Leon has expanded its menu in recent years. While it continues to sell salads, wraps and rice bowls, alongside breakfast egg pots, a vegan burger and smoothies, the business also offers items such as burgers, chicken nuggets, cakes and cookies.
Earlier this year, Leon also expanded its grocery lineup with a swathe of ambient and frozen SKUs, including a range of microwaveable pouches. This followed the launch of Leon’s Waffle Fries and GFC Nuggets into supermarkets.
A spokesperson for Leon said: “Every season we create menus centred around plants and more recently protein, designed to make it easy for everyone to eat well, whilst on the go, while still leaving room for joy.
“We’ll keep evolving, as we always have, but our mission hasn’t changed: to make fast food good food – delicious, affordable, and better for you.”
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