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By Verne Harnish
Eoin Cantwell has grown his company, FIIT Meals, from $3 million in revenue with a 40-person team in 2023 to more than $10 million in projected revenue with 140 employees this year by applying the Scaling Up platform.
His direct-to-consumer ecommerce company, based in Dubai, delivers healthy, calorie-controlled meals to busy professionals. To increase capacity by 10x, Cantwell is now moving the company from a 6,500-square-foot facility to a 44,000-square-foot facility. “We’re really primed for growth,” he says.
Cantwell positioned the company for rapid expansion by applying what he learned in my book Scaling Up , which he read, when the company’s growth had plateaued, in 2023 on a friend’s recommendation. After attending one of our CEO Summits, he began working with Scaling Up Certified Coach Brian Keegan 18 months ago to apply the ideas in the book.
Growth has accelerated, thanks to initiatives like the Making Earnings Available to Loyal Staff (MEALS) Bonus. In this program, FITT Meals awards 10% of monthly company profits, multiplied by an organization-wide success rate in meeting KPIs, to its team, sharing the reward equally.
“Everyone knows we’re in it together,” Cantwell says. “When we win, we all win. When we lose, we all lose.”
Capturing the soul of a company
Cantwell, who grew up in Ireland, moved to Dubai in 2012 and built a career as manager of a sports and recreation club. He launched FIIT Meals in 2020 after noticing the high demand for premium food delivery among the many busy professionals in Dubai. After outsourcing delivery during the company’s early months, he quickly moved all operations in-house for better quality control.
“We’re capturing the soul of the company,” he says. “We’re strong in high-quality execution.”
Building a team of ‘A’ Players
To position the company for growth, Cantwell actively looked for ‘A’ players committed to excellence. Now, he asks these employees to refer potential team members who share their work ethic to the company.
“I love hiring from referrals,” he says. “There’s a very high success rate on that.”
Committing to a bold growth strategy
When Cantwell began working with Keegan, he and his leadership team completed the One-Page Strategic Plan. They decided to focus on perfecting the company’s menu in the United Arab Emirates before entering the Saudi Arabian market.
“It doesn’t matter how healthy the food is—if it’s not tasty and convenient, and the service isn’t good, no one’s going to eat it,” Cantwell says. “So, first and foremost, we have to make sure our quality, our service, our delivery, our menu options, our variety are absolutely top of class.”
Prioritizing execution
FITT Meals has been winning customers rapidly. It now delivers three meals a week to approximately 2,000 to 2,500 customers. Its team does everything from meal prep and cooking to boxing, packing, portioning, and delivering meals to customers’ doors in its fleet of approximately 30 vans.
Constant attention to food safety, quality control, compliance and standard operating procedures has been critical. To keep everyone aligned, the company holds daily and weekly huddles. “Our operations and processes have to be really, really tight,” Cantwell says.
A business model built on strong cash flow
Because customers pay for meals 48 hours in advance of delivery, FIIT Meals has enjoyed healthy cash flow. This approach has enabled just-in-time ordering, which contributes to the freshness of the meals it prepares.
The company is profitable and uses cash flow to fund its expenditures. Currently, it is building its own in-house front- and back-end software.
Open Book Management keeps the team focused on growth. “Everyone in the company can see the P&L and how we are doing,” Cantwell says. “That gives them a really clear insight into how to improve things, how to save on costs, and how to increase revenue. It gives everyone ownership and full visibility across the company.”
That spirit of collective ownership will be essential as the company seeks to make the best use of its new facility to expand its menu and markets. “Opening our new facility is a big strategic move for us,” he says. “It’s a big, big moment for us that we need to execute properly.”
