Since launching in 2012 as one of the first high-protein ready meal companies on the market, Sydney-based Workout Meals has supported Australians in reaching their health goals without the hassle of cooking. Now, the company has launched a new range of meals, specifically for an air-fryer, the first in Australia to do so. Food & Drink Business spoke with Workout Meals co-founder, Tomi Jurlina, to discuss the beginnings of the range and how the company has grown over the past decade.
Workout Meals was founded in 2012 by two gym enthusiasts, Tomi Jurlina and Dean Deakin, who realised there was a market for pre-made healthy food. The company now offers a menu of over 50 meals to choose from, that are delivered to over 3000 locations across New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria.
Source: Workout Meals
Jurlina told Food & Drink Business that a personal hatred of cooking kickstarted the company, after his personal trainer gave him a meal program to follow.
“I’m a terrible cook, and I wanted to outsource the meal prep to someone else, which was hard to do without a personal chef,” said Jurlina.
“We started out in Dean’s kitchen with help from his mum and auntie, with something like five orders, and it just kept growing. We’ve moved several times over the past 12 years, to bigger and bigger kitchens. The one we’re at now is part of Kitchen Food Group, and is a massive space.”
The Workout Meals team is hyper-focused on innovation, meeting every week to work on new product development. It was Jurlina’s idea to create a range specifically for an air-fryer, to offer crisper textures and flavours for consumers.
According to the Food Safety Information Council, 2 in 3 Australian households own an air fryer, with 54 per cent using it weekly and 38 per cent, several times a week.
Like the rest of the Workout Meal range, the 12 air fryer designed meals are made up of chef-crafted options that are macro-friendly, high in protein, and low in fat. Each meal comes in heat-safe, eco-friendly sugarcane packaging that cooks in under 15 minutes.
“The new range took some time to develop, as we had to choose ingredients that would work best in the air-fryer,” said Jurlina.
“We’ve had a really good response, and had to bring on extra kitchen staff to keep up with orders. We make meals to order to make sure consumers are getting something fresh and tasty, with no added preservatives.”
Workout Meals continues to prioritise taste and nutrition in its expanded range, through weekly taste testing, sourcing quality ingredients, and developing new meals alongside nutritionists and dieticians to offer the best consumer experience.
“We try to find a Goldilocks zone of producing something that's healthy and tasty, without putting in any unnecessary extras, like food enhancers. I wanted to make something that I would actually eat again,” said Jurlina.
