UK Meal Prep Report

Regional meal prep orders and nutrition goals revealed

Healthy eating is becoming a greater focus for many Brits, with recent retail data showing shoppers are increasingly prioritising fresh fruit and minimally processed foods.1

As more people look for practical ways to build healthier habits into busy routines, this report reveals the regions that are investing in meal prep delivery to do so and the nutrition goals driving this choice.

The meal prep capitals of the UK

We’ve analysed anonymised Prep Kitchen orders by city and adjusted them per 100,000 residents to reveal where meal prep delivery is most common.

The average across the UK is 1,431 meals ordered per 100,000 people. Preston is far higher at 3,344, with Doncaster (2,823) and Stockport (2,500) also above average.

Meal prep delivery addresses a set of modern problems:

• People are time-poor
• Food decisions stack up fast
• Online grocery shopping makes convenience the default

Meal prep delivery takes away the hassle of working out and tracking macros, planning, and preparing healthy meals, allowing you to meet your nutrition goals with ease – rather than chasing diet trends.

The bulking capitals of the UK

For some, the goal isn’t weight loss – it’s muscle gain. ‘Bulking’ typically means eating more to support training and muscle growth, which often involves higher calorie and carbohydrate intake alongside plenty of protein.

Prep Kitchen’s large portion meals cater to that demand, offering higher-calorie, high-protein, and balanced-carb dinners. They’re built around protein, vegetables, and carbohydrates, with portions scaled up for people who want more on their plate.

Overall, around a quarter of Prep Kitchen customers choose large balanced meals (24.4%). However, in Chatham, Kent, it's much higher at 43.3%; in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, it’s 40%; and in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, it’s 36.7%.

This suggests that a significant proportion of meal-preppers in these regions could be pursuing muscle gain – or simply a balanced diet – rather than weight loss.

For anyone juggling training, work, and life, having a plan for the week matters more than constant reinvention.

Find out more about the world of bulking and how it works.

Loved by weightlifters, trainers, and more than 40 elite athletes.

Training hard or simply juggling a busy week? We know you don’t always have the time (or headspace) to plan every meal. Prep Kitchen makes it easier to stay consistent with meals delivered straight to your door.

• High in protein: Meals average around 40g per serving.
• Balanced: Built around balanced portions of protein, vegetables, and carbs.
• Chef-designed: Developed by Michelin-trained chefs.
• Variety: Three-week menu rotation.

Prep Kitchen’s large portion meals are delivered straight to your door and can be ready in just three minutes.

The fat loss capitals of the UK

While bulking is about eating more to support muscle growth, fat loss is typically about tightening things up – choosing meals with controlled calories and, often, fewer fats and carbohydrates.

Prep Kitchen’s regular portion meals are built around that preference. They contain fewer calories than large portion meals and can be paired with a lower-carb option, while maintaining the same focus on macros, giving customers a structured option that feels practical rather than restrictive.

The average proportion of national customers choosing regular lower-carb meals is 21.8%.

In the top-ranking cities for this meal type, those figures almost double, to 39.4% in Epsom, Surrey, 34.5% in Maidenhead, Berkshire, and 32.4% in Walsall, Staffordshire, 32.4%.

For many people, reducing carbohydrate portions isn’t about eliminating foods; it’s about shifting the balance on the plate.

Delicious, regular portion meal prep designed for customers who want calorie-controlled nutrition - often alongside a lower-carb option for those pursuing fat loss.

Why customers choose this plan:

• We calculate calories and balance your macros for you.
• Meals delivered straight to your door, ready in 3 minutes, and no washing up.
• No boring, bland ‘diet food’ – our meals are designed by Michelin-trained chefs.

Not extreme rules. Not food fear. Just meals that make it easier to stay consistent across a busy week.

Methodology

Prep Kitchen is a UK healthy meal prep delivery service built around a simple idea: eating well should feel doable, even when life is busy. Founded by owners Mark Morley and William Fishenden, the brand was created to make balanced, high-protein meals more accessible, without sacrificing flavour.

Because we see first-hand how people order, eat, and plan their weeks, we wanted to explore the most popular meal plans and how they vary by region. For this report, we analysed:

1. Active users per 100,000 people

We used Prep Kitchen's internal 2025 order data to show the cities with the most active orders. We then normalised this per 100,000 people using City Population data.

2. Muscle-building and fat-loss priorities

We used Prep Kitchen's internal data in the same period to show the cities with the highest percentage of active customers ordering:

• Large balanced meal plans (proxy for muscle-building)
• Regular lower-carb meal plans (proxy for fat-loss)

Note: We included only cities with at least 1,000 meals ordered in 2025 and at least 10 active users.

Sources

UK shoppers shift to healthier habits in 2025 - NIQ