Founded in 2016, Lean Nation is a venture of four college friends that provides healthy, balanced meals to corporate employees.
About four years ago, Avi Barua Chaudhry, an area manager at British American Tobacco, was struggling with weight management. His excess weight caused several medical complications including back pain, fatty liver, etc.
He started going to the gym, but still struggled to control his weight. Long working hours and irregular eating habits didn’t help. He realized that he needed to combine training with healthy eating.
“I’ve tried many different diets, including keto and intermittent fasting. I’ve lost some weight, but none of them seem to have long-lasting results. As soon as I stop dieting, I gain the weight back. It was frustrating to see that.”
Avi needed a diet she could stick to long-term. So he signed up for the Lean Nation meal plan. He followed a 1,200 calorie meal plan with his 5 courses (3 meals and 2 snacks) and within 3 months he lost 25 kg.
“The Lean Nation diet avoids the typical boomerang effect associated with many diets and provides a more permanent solution,” Avie said of her weight loss journey.
Additionally, eating the right amount of food has helped Avee cultivate an overall healthy lifestyle. He became more conscious of eating a balanced diet.
sow business seeds
Founded in 2016, Lean Nation is a venture run by school friends Anik Rayan Ilias, Fuad Abdul Quader, Kazi Mukhtassim Hassan, and Nadvi Ahmed to provide healthy, healthy food for working people. We provide balanced meals.
Fuad, Lean Nation’s director of marketing and business development, spent some time in the United States and became accustomed to foods with precise calorie counts.
When he returned to Bangladesh and looked for such food, he was disappointed. He and his business partners realized there was a market gap in the nutritious food industry.
“We had no previous experience in this area, but we had several restaurant businesses (Rice & Noodles, The Bhoj Company), which gave us an added advantage. We were able to process this,” Fuad said.
Lean Nation doesn’t have an in-house nutritionist, but we often consult with one who approves our menus. Additionally, if a client has their own nutritionist or diet plan, Lean His Nation will work with them.
Accurate raw materials, simple logistics
In addition to offering monthly or weekly subscriptions, Lean Nation also accommodates daily subscriptions, providing customers with flexibility.
Once orders are completed for the next day, the chef goes out to do the daily grocery shopping to ensure the freshest ingredients are delivered.
Once you’ve sourced all the ingredients, your kitchen will come to life. By midnight, all items will be ready. Next comes the cooling, packaging and refrigeration part.
The kitchen staff consists of a head chef, sous chef, and other supporting staff, and is adjusted according to service demands.
Most of the company’s customers are companies based in Gulshan and Banana. Therefore, the kitchen was in Banani. However, they recently shifted their base to Gulshan.
Delivery operations begin at 7am and are completed by 9am. All meals, whether dinner or snacks, are delivered in the morning. Subscribers are instructed to chill in the refrigerator and heat before eating.
“It’s very convenient that all the food is delivered in the morning. It’s delivered to my office address on weekdays and to my home on weekends,” Avey said.
Lean Nation has its own delivery department, which Fuad says is one of the company’s big strengths. Throughout his eight years of operation, Lean Nation has served more than 300,000 meals.
Lean Nation’s weekly 2-meal plan starts from Tk 6,000 and the monthly 2-meal plan is priced at Tk 20,000. For those following the keto diet, the options include the Keto 2 Meal Plan for Tk 7,500 per week and the Keto 4 Meal Plan for Tk 10,000 per week.
During Ramadan, we offer iftar, dinner and sehri packages (Tk 2,000 per day and Tk 8,000 per week).
Lean Nation’s menu is very diverse. You cannot eat the same thing two days in a row. Ideal pairings include a creamy chicken wrap for breakfast, chicken curry with rice and dahl for lunch, muffins and oranges for a snack, and brown pasta and marinara for dinner. Or you could have creamy vanilla oats for breakfast, Korean chicken for lunch, almonds and bananas for a snack, and finally Assam fish curry for dinner.
At the moment, Lean Nation only delivers within Dhaka city.
Since its founding, Lean Nation’s biggest challenge has been training chefs because of the precision required in the food they prepare.
“Chefs are good at their jobs and make delicious food, but they’re not used to the concept of precise measurements. One cup is exactly one cup, one tablespoon is exactly one tablespoon. “The idea of a precise measurement being a cup is more like a tablespoon. Anything less than a teaspoon has been a challenge in our kitchen training,” Fuad said. .
Plus, the menu changes constantly, so choosing the right menu can be a daunting task. Nadvie Ahmed is responsible for menu design and calorie counting. He took several online courses to educate himself on the subject and also did some chef training.
“The meals we serve are delicious, filling and balanced. What’s more, they are tailored to suit the taste buds of Bangladeshis,” Fuad added.
For people on the go
Both Lean Nation’s meals and logistics are designed for a specific target group: office workers who are always on the go.
“It’s aimed at people who have busy schedules, who want to adopt a healthy lifestyle but are somehow unable to do so,” Fuad said.
Lean Nation’s customers are very niche, and the company loves that.
“We would rather have regular customers than expand our customer base,” he added.
When asked why the fitness community is not their main customer, Fuad said: “People who are dedicated to fitness are more active and make an effort to cook their own meals. So we also cater to people who are a little more laid back.” ”
However, Lean Nation works with fitness coaches.
Although there are several companies on the market working on similar ventures, Lean Nation stands out for its passionate fan base.
Fado revealed that during the pandemic, many fitness enthusiasts have taken to entrepreneurship and run businesses that provide healthy meals from home.
This not only contributed to the revitalization of the market, but also played an important role in educating and expanding the consumer base.
“Many people misunderstand our services as a weight loss challenge, but that’s actually not the case. We promote sustainable, long-term diets and healthy living,” he said. I concluded.
