The Lunch Box

What The Lunch Box does

The Lunch Box UK Ltd is a privately held English outside-catering company founded in 1997 and headquartered in Billericay, Essex. It operates a fleet of uniformly designed, freestanding self-sufficient catering kiosks (14-22ft) that are towed into position at shopping centres and retail parks throughout England, where the running gear is disengaged and the unit functions as a permanent structural kiosk. Each kiosk is equipped with griddles, bain marie's, water urns, and onboard waste water collection tanks, powered by bottled gas for 24-hour operation, with no requirement for permanent electricity, mains gas, or drainage. A centralized service fleet delivers fresh bread baked nightly, pumps waste water, and steam-cleans each kiosk fortnightly.

The company sells fast food and refreshments (burgers, wraps, breakfast items, jacket potatoes, sandwiches, beverages) at retail-park kiosk sites, with menu items priced between £1.80 and £9.00. The portfolio spans 14+ permanent kiosk locations, including multiple B&Q sites, Lakeside Retail Park, Arches Retail Park Watford, Gallows Corner Romford, Hyundai Tilbury, and Boreham Wood FC. A secondary line of business rents kiosks and supplies staff, food, and transport for events such as weddings, birthday parties, charity events, and fun days. The company also markets a landlord partnership offering £10,000-£30,000 annual rental income per site for as little as three parking spaces.

The business is founder-owned (Andy Argent, Proprietor) with operations led by Angie Hicks (Operations Manager), operates with 11-50 employees, holds multiple 5-star Food Hygiene ratings from the Food Standards Agency, and won the AA South East England Patrol Approved Award in 2009. Revenue is undisclosed; the company is privately held with no external investors or parent entity, and is a member of the FSB and NCASS trade associations.

Name

The Lunch Box

Legal name

The Lunch Box Uk Ltd

Website

https://thelunchbox.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Lunch Box UK Ltd is a privately held English outside-catering company, founded 1997, operating a fleet of self-sufficient mobile kiosks at shopping centres and retail parks across England, serving the general public and nearby staff with fast food and beverages.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mobile Catering Services

NAICS

Mobile Food Services (722330), Mobile Food Services (72233), Caterers (722320)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Trailers & Towable Kitchens (THAFAHAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mobile Catering Trucks (On-Site Service) (THAFAHAJ), Festival, Fair & Event Mobile Concessions (THAFAHAI), Mobile / On-Site Catering (Food Trucks for Events, Pop-Ups) (THAFAIAJ), Catering Equipment, Rentals & Setup (Non-decor) (HSACAGAL)

Keywords

• Mobile catering kiosks
• Outside catering services
• Fast food kiosks
• Retail park catering
• Event catering hire

Headquarters

HQ city

Brentwood

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices15 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail Kiosk Food Sales: Revenue generated from food and beverage sales at permanently positioned kiosks in shopping centres and retail parks. Serves general public and staff working in the local vicinity.
2. Events Catering: Mobile catering kiosk rental for events including weddings, birthday parties, gymkanas, parties, fun days and charity events. Company supplies staff, kiosk, food and transport arrangements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Lunch Box operates freestanding, self-sufficient mobile catering kiosks (14ft–22ft) towed into position at shopping centres and retail parks throughout England, where they serve fast food and refreshments to the general public and nearby retail staff. The company also provides a mobile events catering service supplying kiosk, staff, food, and transport for weddings, parties, charity events, and fun days, and offers landlord partnerships generating £10,000–£30,000 annual rental income.

Product overview

The Lunch Box is a catering company operating mobile food kiosks at shopping centres and retail parks throughout England. Founded in 1997, the company provides fast food service through uniformly designed, freestanding kiosks that vary in length between 14ft and 22ft. The product portfolio consists of The Lunch Box Catering Kiosks as the core offering, supplemented by Events Catering services for private occasions and a franchise/partnership model for landlords. The menu includes burgers (such as La Reva Burger and ¼lb Burger), wraps (Chicken & Bacon Melt Wrap), breakfast items (Full Monty), vegetarian options (Vegetable Pattie & Chips), and jacket potatoes. The company has expanded to over 14 locations across England, with each kiosk maintaining consistent quality standards and 5-star food hygiene ratings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Lunch Box Catering Kiosks Mobile catering kiosks offering fast food and refreshments at shopping centres and retail parks throughout England. Kiosks are uniformly designed, freestanding units ranging from 14ft to 22ft, equipped with griddles, bain marie's, and water urns for food preparation, and serve the general public and retail park staff.
• Events Catering Service Catering kiosks available for events including weddings, birthday parties, gymkanas, fun days, and charity events. The service includes staff, kiosk, food, and transport arrangements with 16ft or 18ft kiosks equipped with griddles, bain marie's and water urns.
• Catering Kiosk Landlord Partnership Partnership opportunity for landlords, councils, and agents offering annual rental income between £10,000 and £30,000. Requires only up to three car parking spaces as land cost, with no requirement for permanent electricity, mains gas, or drainage.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5 Star Food Hygiene Rating achieved at multiple locations (Coventry, Havant, Hemel Hempstead, Lakeside, Colchester)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• FSB (Federation of Small Businesses)minorOthersThe Lunch Box is a member of the Federation of Small Businesses, indicating association membership for small business support and networking.
• NCASS (National Association of Catering and Outside Caterers)minorOthersThe Lunch Box is a member of NCASS, the National Association of Catering and Outside Caterers, indicating industry association membership.
• B&QcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerB&Q hosts The Lunch Box catering kiosks at multiple B&Q locations throughout England. The company provides catering facilities for B&Q customers and staff in exchange for parking space usage.
• Shopping Centre and Retail Park LandlordscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProperty owners and landlords who provide up to three parking spaces for kiosk placement. Landlords receive annual income between £10,000 and £30,000 depending on location size and foot traffic. The Lunch Box provides a catering facility that attracts customers and reduces illegal fly pitching.
• Forex Trading FloorsminorOthersListed as a sponsor on the company website.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• The Cornish Bakery: UK bakery café operator with a growing kiosk and small-store footprint in shopping centres and travel locations — comparable kiosk-style retail, similar quick-serve food positioning, and comparable UK regional roll-out profile.
• Crussh: London-based health-focused juice, smoothie and food bar chain operating small kiosk-format units in retail, transport and office locations — comparable kiosk-based food service model and similar UK high-footfall site strategy.
• Chopstix: UK fast-food chain specialising in Asian noodles and box meals with a strong kiosk and small-format footprint inside shopping centres, retail parks, and transport hubs — directly comparable to The Lunch Box's mobile kiosk model and customer base.
• Wenzel's the Bakers: UK bakery café chain operating small-format kiosks and in-store units inside supermarkets, retail parks, and shopping centres — similar kiosk retail format, similar British footfall-driven customer base, and similar breakfast/snack menu positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Costa Coffee: UK's largest coffee chain with strong kiosk and small-format presence in retail parks, supermarkets and shopping centres — comparable high-footfall retail-park positioning and similar 'quick food/drink for shoppers' use case, but focused on beverages.
• Pret a Manger: Large UK/international fast-casual chain operating in shopping centres, retail parks and high-street locations — comparable quick-service hot-food offering at retail-park catchments, but at far greater scale and with a fixed-store rather than towable-kiosk model.
• Compass Group UK: Largest UK contract foodservice operator covering corporate, event and venue catering — relevant comparison point for the events catering side of The Lunch Box's business, with significant overlap on weddings, corporate functions and event hospitality.
• Leon Restaurants: Established UK fast-casual chain with locations in shopping centres and retail destinations — comparable quick-meal positioning for shoppers and workers, but operates fixed restaurants rather than towable kiosks and at materially larger scale.
• Burger King UK: Major UK fast-food chain competing for the same burger-and-chips shopper and retail-park customer as The Lunch Box — overlapping menu and customer base, but operating fixed restaurants rather than towable, infrastructure-light kiosks.
• McDonald's UK: Largest UK quick-service chain with extensive shopping-centre and retail-park presence — directly overlapping core menu (burgers, chips, breakfast) and shopper/staff customer segment, though operates fixed restaurants at materially larger scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/thelunchboxuk
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Lunch Box