3 FivePointFour

Healthy meal operation FivePointFour is upgrading its premises almost every quarter as demand for the pre-made, diet tailored food on offer continues to grow.

Founder Beni Doolan has a background in health and nutrition, and started cooking for athletes out of his own kitchen when “diets and skin folds” research at uni wasn’t doing the trick.

The business raked in $1 million in 2013-14 and finished up with $11.8 million in turnover for 2015-16, with a three-year growth rate of 940%.

Doolan has previously told SmartCompany he never wanted to start a business, but rather was drawn into FivePointFour because it involved doing the things he loved.

“I felt really good when people got really good results and was literally making no money out of it, but was feeling good for myself,” he said in January.

The business is currently over-subscribed, which presents its own set of challenges – especially around clear communication with suppliers and freight managers about how much product is needed and how many meals have to be moved.

“This has been a great problem to have,” says Doolan.

“We recognised very early on that we needed to truly take our suppliers along on the journey with us and we actively share what we are aiming to achieve.”

The business offers tailored home delivered meals for weight loss for men and women, weight maintenance packages and vegan options. FivePointFour will now embark on a targeted international expansion plan, focusing on markets that will respond well to brand ambassadors.

“Our big hairy audacious goal is to impact 10 million lives per year by 2020,” says Doolan.

The business entered the Melbourne market in 2015 and once growth has been established there this year, Doolan has an eye on Asia.

“China and southeast Asia would be an obvious next step utilising the brand ambassador and FivePointFour’s effective use of social media,” says Doolan.