Parsley Box Group plc 

("Parsley Box" or the "Company")

Trading Update and Managing Director Appointment

Parsley Box Group plc (AIM: MEAL), the direct to consumer provider of ready meals focused on the Baby Boomer+ demographic, today issues an update on trading.

The Board is pleased to report that trading performance running up to the year ended December is in line with the 30 September trading update and the Group is on track to deliver full year revenue marginally over the £25m forecast, representing modest year on year growth. The Group's year-end cash balance is expected to be approximately £2.2m.

Parsley Box has worked collaboratively with its key suppliers and received good support in rebuilding stock levels over recent weeks. The Board continues to monitor the impact of the Omicron variant on the supply chain and remains cautious about balancing marketing activity and stock availability in the near term to continue managing customer service levels.

As stated in the September trading update, customer service is a core value of the Group, and therefore the Board took the difficult decision to reduce investment in marketing in the second half. Marketing spend has been cut by circa one third in H2 compared to H1 whilst stock availability was significantly constrained, resulting in approximately 20% lower order numbers and therefore revenue in H2 compared to H1.

The lower stock levels impacted average order values for much of the second half, however these have been recovering well in recent weeks as stock availability improves.  Furthermore, 50% of the Group's product range has been relaunched with new recipes and new dishes added, extending the range by 20%, also supporting recent higher average order values.

Managing Director Appointment

The Group has appointed Simon Russell as Managing Director, responsible for customer service, product development and the day-to-day running of the UK business. The appointment will enable Chief Executive Kevin Dorren to increase his focus on developing the Group's business and in particular strategic growth opportunities.

Simon, formerly at the John Lewis Partnership in various leadership roles for over 20 years where he was responsible for the 'shop of the future' vision from both a customer experience point of view and a business operating model, brings a wealth of omnichannel retail experience to the new position at Parsley Box.

Prior to joining Parsley Box he ran his own retail consultancy advising investors, retailers and start-up businesses on omnichannel strategy, digital transformation and turnaround, growth and financial sustainability.

Funding

In order to support its investment plan, Parsley Box intends to raise further funding during Q1.  Certain members of the Board together with their associates have indicated their intention to invest, demonstrating their strong support for the Company.

Kevin Dorren, CEO of Parsley Box said:

"I am pleased to announce that we have delivered on our revised 2021 plan.

"The supply chain issues, widely felt across the food sector, need hour-by-hour focus and Simon's appointment will allow us to continue providing excellent service to our existing customers, without delaying our longer term plans to deliver a platform for independent living.

"At the IPO in March, we stated our intention to appoint high-calibre talent to build the right infrastructure for future growth and Simon will play a key part in this. I am looking forward to announcing the investment plan in the new year to outline the next steps in Parsley Box's development."

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Notes to editors:

Parsley Box delivers ready meals direct to the underserved Baby Boomer+ consumer, broadly defined as those aged 60 and over. Its mission is to champion and empower the over 60s. The core product range comprises over 60 single portion sized meals spanning various cuisines.

The Baby Boomer+ demographic is growing rapidly; it represented c.24 per cent. of the UK population (16.2 million people) in 2019 and is the only age demographic that is forecast to grow materially in the next 10 years (source: Government Office for Science, Future of an Ageing Population). Parsley Box was founded in March 2017 to specifically target this highly attractive fast-growing market.