Eoin Cantwell has grown his company, FITT Meals, from US$3 million in revenue with a 40-person team in 2023 to more than US$10 million in revenue with 140 employees by applying the Scaling Up platform.

Previously the manager of a sports and recreation club, Cantwell launched FITT Meals, a direct-to-consumer ecommerce company based in Dubai, in 2020 to deliver healthy, calorie-controlled meals to busy professionals. He noticed that many professionals worked long hours and had little time to cook and saw his business take off quickly.

Then the unexpected happened. On 28 February, the Gulf conflict brought missile strikes to the city. Iran retaliated against the bombing by the United States and Israel with strikes across the United Arab Emirates.

The World Bank recently reduced its GDP forecast for the United Arab Emirates to 2.4 percent in 2025, down from 5.6 percent, citing disruptions to regional trade, logistics and financial flows. Despite a ceasefire, conflicts have continued in the region.

Cantwell has managed to keep the company growing, delivering three meals a week to approximately 2,000 to 2,500 customers. The company increased its capacity tenfold by making a bold move from a 604-square-meter facility to a 4,088-square-meter facility in May, despite the logistical challenges posed by the war.

That allowed it to roll out new menu offerings, including its High Protein, Low Carb meal plan – its most requested meal plan ever – and FITT Saver, a lower-priced meal plan targeting customers looking to save money in tough economic conditions. Along the way, it has achieved its goals of getting 1,000 Google reviews, rolled out a new website and launched a new customer journey platform.

“We’re primed for growth,” Cantwell says.

To keep his company moving forward, Cantwell focused on the Four Decisions companies must get right in order to scale – People, Strategy, Execution and Cash – prioritizing Strategy.

His example holds lessons for any entrepreneur facing challenging conditions, whether it’s tariffs, inflation, economic shifts or changes ushered in by AI.

Putting strategy front and center

When FITT Meals’ growth plateaued in 2023, Cantwell read my book Scaling Up on a friend’s recommendation and attended one of our CEO Summits. He began working with Scaling Up Certified Coach Brian Keegan to apply the ideas in the book, completing the One-Page Strategic Plan with his leadership team.

They decided to focus their strategy on perfecting their menu in the United Arab Emirates to prime the company for expansion into Saudi Arabia.

“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.”

Sharing profits

FITT Meals has aligned its team around executing its strategy through its Making Earnings Available to Loyal Staff (MEALS) Bonus. FITT Meals awards 10 percent of the company’s monthly 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.”

Underlying programs like this is a culture where every team member knows they matter. FITT Meals brings everyone together through a host of activities, such as team sports competitions, wellness breakfasts and Mother’s Day gifts for the moms on its team.

When the war broke out, the company doubled down on its commitment to its employees, staying in close communication with its drivers and issuing multiple safety videos to guide them.

“We spoke candidly about making the deliveries to our loyal customers with the dispatch team, as long as our safety and health were not compromised, we agreed to get the food out the door and into our customers’ hands,” he says. “It was a joint approach with our staff and doing what was best for the company and staff.”

To let the delivery drivers know how much their contributions are valued, the company recently created a ‘wall of appreciation’, sharing positive messages from customers about the people who deliver their meals every week.

Building a culture of excellence

After outsourcing delivery during the company’s early months, one of Cantwell’s most important long-term decisions was moving all operations in-house for better quality control.

Its team does everything from meal prep and cooking to boxing, packing, portioning and delivering meals to customers’ doors, using its fleet of approximately 30 vans. This captures the soul of the company, he says.

“We’re strong in high-quality execution,” Cantwell adds.

Constant attention to food safety, quality control, compliance and standard operating procedures has positioned the company to withstand the rigors of scaling. To keep its team aligned on quality control, the company holds daily and weekly huddles.

“Our operations and processes have to be really, really tight,” Cantwell says.

To reinforce the importance of food safety, the company also recognizes talented employees through awards like Hygiene Heroes. In this program, it recognizes those on its team who go above and beyond to protect the company’s processes, uphold standards and ‘lead from the front’ when it comes to food safety, calling out their contributions at its quarterly all-hands meetings.

The company also holds Food Safety Week, during which the food safety team tests its knowledge with a quiz over coffee and pastries, awarding prizes to the highest scorers in a spirit of friendly competition.

It’s paying off. The company recently received a coveted Golden A – the highest standard for food safety and hygiene – following a surprise inspection and audit by Dubai Municipality.

Keeping cash flowing

Because customers pay for meals 48 hours before delivery, FITT 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 everyone on 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 thinking like owners 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 has been a big strategic move for us,” he says.

It’s one that has positioned FITT Meals to grow even when the business environment has brought many obstacles to scaling.

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