• MealPlanet, a UAE-based startup, has raised $6 million in seed funding, with contributions from regional venture capital firms like MEVP, AlTouq Group, and prominent entrepreneurs including Marc Lore and Samih Toukan.
• Founded in 2024, MealPlanet consolidates meal plan brands into a single platform, allowing customers to easily discover, subscribe to, and manage their meal plans.
• The startup plans to expand regionally, starting in Saudi Arabia in early 2025, with funds supporting further technological development and market growth.

MealPlanet, a UAE-based meal plan startup, announced that it has secured $6 million in seed funding.The funding round reflects growing investor interest in the meal planning market in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The round was led by prominent regional venture capital firms such as Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), AlTouq Group, Sanabil 500, Faith Capital, and Alturki Ventures. Notable entrepreneurs Marc Lore and Samih Toukan also contributed to the funding.

Walid Mansour, co-founder and co-CEO of MEVP, highlighted the significant opportunity in the expanding meal planning market, driven by increasing demand for healthy and convenient eating options.

“MealPlanet was established in early 2024 to address the industry’s gap in technology solutions and to meet the rapidly growing demand for meal plans,” Baareh explained to Forbes Middle East.

Founded in 2024 by serial entrepreneur Khalid Baareh, MealPlanet aims to unite all meal plan brands under a single platform, enabling customers to discover, subscribe to, and manage their meal plans with ease.

The startup currently collaborates with over 100 brands, including Prep & Co, Basiligo, PrepHero, The Lean Co., Aleen’s, Pura, Health Road, Nutrition Kitchen, Healthy Little Secrets, Freshii, and Embody Fitness. Operating in the UAE, MealPlanet has plans for regional expansion, beginning with Saudi Arabia in the first quarter of 2025.

Baareh stated that the funds raised will support the company’s expansion and the ongoing development of its proprietary technology stack, which leverages intelligence to enhance and customize the consumer experience.

Baareh, who previously co-founded the cloud kitchen platform iKcon, acquired by REEF Technology in November 2021, noted that MealPlanet generates revenue by charging providers a commission fee based on their monthly sales through the platform.

Baareh also pointed out that the regional dynamics offer fertile ground for growth in the meal plan market, which, despite its exponential growth at an estimated 35% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), is still in the early stages of adoption compared to the broader food and beverage market.

“There is a strong and growing trend towards healthy eating and fitness in the GCC, driven by rising rates of obesity and chronic diseases. This has fueled a real demand for convenient, yet healthy and nutritious meal options,” Baareh added.

According to Statista, the global meal delivery market is projected to generate $424.5 billion in revenue in 2024, with a CAGR of 3.6% from 2024 to 2029, leading to an anticipated market volume of $507 billion by 2029. By then, the number of users in the meal delivery market is expected to reach 2.5 billion.