Muscle Food is under new ownership, as the former CEO of the e-commerce retailer and the founder of The Good Food Group partnered to take full control of the business.
Nick Preston and Ross Carlin bought the Nottinghamshire-headquartered company for an undisclosed sum from previous owner The GPS Food Group.
Preston shares a long history with Muscle Food, having been on board since the early days of the company in 2014. He ran the business as co-CEO for almost two years until the end of 2021, and then took the helm as CEO in late 2022 until September 2024.
Carlin is the founder of The Good Food Group, a retail management specialist agency in the fmcg nutrition sector and an official supply partner to major UK retailers such as Boots, Superdrug and Holland & Barrett.
The pandemic supercharged growth at Muscle Food, an online seller of high-protein food and snacks, lean meats and sports supplements, but the company has struggled in recent years.
The most recent set of accounts for the group filed at Companies House – for the year ended 30 June 2024 – indicated there was “a material uncertainty” over its ability to continue trading as a going concern.
A major restructuring was kicked off during the year to simplify the business as losses soared to almost £8m on the back of sales of £31.3m.
However, the new deal backed by Preston and Carlin has now resulted in much of Muscle Food’s debt being written off, according to the new owners.
“It’s fantastic to return to Muscle Food and we’re both incredibly proud to be the owners,” Preston said.
“Muscle Food has a history of being such an innovative business and it has inspired so many entrepreneurs to launch their own brands over the years.
“I’m really proud of the work the team here have done, and we are looking forward to elevating the offer once again and bringing back that spirit of innovation which made Muscle Food such a leader in the market.”
He added: “I have been associated with Muscle Food since pretty much the start, so it seems poignant to come full circle and return as co-owner.”
Carlin said: “We want to show the world who Muscle Food is. The brand made its name through innovating the industry, so it sits very well alongside The Good Food Group, which is also known for innovation.
“It’s early days but we have already started work on a new customer service improvement plan to make sure our customers get the best service possible. There’s so much potential for growth.
“We will be elevating everything about the brand in terms of quality, service and communication. Persistence beats resistance and we will deliver what we say we will deliver.
“Muscle Food has a great history of innovation within the food industry, but we are definitely planning forward, not looking back.”
Muscle Food currently employs 85 staff.
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