LEON, the Naturally Fast Food brand that is good for you and good for the planet, is proud to mark a significant milestone in its journey to becoming the UK’s leading omnichannel fast food brand with the launch of its latest cookbook, Big Flavours on 13th March 2025.
Since publishing its first cookbook in 2008, LEON has made its way into home kitchens across the world, selling 1.3 million books globally. Now, with Big Flavours, LEON celebrates the vibrancy of its teams, the passion behind its food, and the dishes that have made LEON what it is today – including flavour-packed recipes from the team themselves.
Cookbooks have always been a key ingredient in LEON’s omnichannel story, bringing best-selling restaurant flavours into home kitchens and making Naturally Fast Food more accessible than ever. With 23 LEON books in print – including the bestselling LEON Happy Salads, which has sold 150,000 copies and been translated into five languages – these books are more than just recipes, they’re a movement.
And now, Big Flavours takes that mission even further. Launching in March, this new cookbook reflects LEON’s commitment to making Naturally Fast Food available anytime, anywhere, and to inspiring healthier, more sustainable eating habits across every channel – a key growth driver for the next five years.
However, the launch of Big Flavours is just one milestone along the way to becoming the UK’s leading omnichannel fast food brand. From restaurant experiences to grocery aisles and home kitchens, LEON is bringing bold flavours and better choices to a bigger audience than ever before – key highlights include:
Launching seven new grocery products for 2025
LEON Grocery is set for a dynamic year of growth, expanding its frozen range with two new product lines: Microwaveable Pouches and Frozen Favourites. These launches bring restaurant bestsellers into homes nationwide, with customer-inspired favourites such as Brazilian Black Beans, the Fish Finger Wrap, and the ever-popular Hash Browns.
The brand’s Grocery Frozen category experienced exceptional momentum in 2024, achieving a remarkable 149% increase in £RSV—outpacing the growth of the total frozen category. This success has driven a significant 40% increase in distribution, adding 3,067 new distribution points across 7 products and raising the total to 10,925 points. Looking ahead, the product count is set to grow from 12 to 20 in 2025, further solidifying LEON’s presence in major retailers like Morrisons and Sainsbury’s and meeting the rising demand for convenient, high-quality frozen meals.
To further add to LEON Grocery’s success, the brand has entered the gifting market, with Christmas ranges and gift sets available in Morrisons, Boots and other national retailers. They are set to continue with another major retailer listing this year.
Mindful Chef x LEON
The ongoing collaboration with Mindful Chef is LEON’s first step into meal kits and is a key part of this approach, bringing LEON flavours to even more households through nutritious, chef-designed recipe boxes.
The January 2025 Mindful Chef x LEON collaboration saw six exclusive dishes featured on the Mindful Chef menu, designed to make healthy eating effortless after the festive season. With over 30,000 trying the delicious dishes, the partnership reinforced LEON’s mission to offer better food choices across multiple channels. LEON Grocery products also thrive through this collaboration, with 9,500 jars of LEON Aioli and 3,600 bottles of Mango’d Ketchup enjoyed by customers across the country.
One year of Roast Rewards
Marking one year since its launch, Roast Rewards – LEON’s coffee subscription – has driven impressive growth and delivered meaningful environmental benefits. Since its introduction, order volume through the app has surged by 81%, comparing the average monthly orders post-launch to the 12 months prior.
Beyond boosting redemptions, Roast Rewards champions sustainability. Every cup is brewed from triple-certified beans – organic, Fairtrade, and sourced in partnership with Puro to protect rainforests through the World Land Trust, of which David Attenborough is a patron. Over the past year, the initiative has helped save an additional 333,777m² (over 133,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools!) of rainforest and protect 19,132 more trees than the previous year. A subscription that’s as good for the planet as it is for your morning ritual.
Expanding across Europe
In September 2024, LEON took another step into European markets with a successful launch in Italy, with a franchise partner. This expansion marks the beginning of a broader strategy to introduce Naturally Fast Food to new audiences across the continent.
LEON’s commitment to innovation doesn’t stop there. The brand is actively exploring new channels for white space growth in 2025 – watch this space for more exciting developments.
With Big Flavours hitting shelves, new grocery ranges launching, and international expansion underway, LEON is solidifying its place as the UK’s leading omnichannel fast food brand – bringing Naturally Fast Food to more people, in more ways, than ever before.
