Meals in Minutes cooks up $1.5m to expand meal kit offerings

Photo credit: Meals in Minutes

Meals in Minutes, a Malaysia-based food startup that offers ready-to-cook meals, has secured US$1.5 million in a seed round led by 500 Global. A private investor also participated in the round.

Founded in 2020 by Brandon Lim and Khiara Mia, Meals in Minutes aims to make cooking easier for busy individuals and provide food solutions for F&B businesses. Its halal-certified products are frozen and portioned, and can be cooked in 15 minutes or less, hence the company’s name.

The company said it will use the capital to support its growth across Singapore and Malaysia, as well as to enter the UK. It also plans to increase its product variety, improve its marketing strategy, and reach more potential customers across all markets.

The rise of food startups like Meals in Minutes comes amid a mixed outlook in Southeast Asia’s food delivery space – a major growth driver for such companies. While Grab appears to be working to reverse its decline in the segment, Foodpanda parent Delivery Hero is facing growth hurdles across Asia.

For Malaysia in particular, the food delivery market is expected to log an annual growth rate of 11.49% from this year through 2028.

See also: Shaking up alternative proteins: Can this SG startup turn red ink into green?