Rustlers (a Kepak Group brand)

What Rustlers (a Kepak Group brand) does

Rustlers is a UK chilled ready meals and micro-snacking brand established in 1999 and owned by Kepak Group, a diversified food manufacturing conglomerate. Operated through the Kepak Convenience Foods legal entity at Kirkham, Preston, Rustlers manufactures and markets flame-grilled burgers made with 100% British and Irish beef and pork, plus British chicken breast, and has extended into breakfast items (sausage muffins, pancake stacks), sandwiches and subs, and plant-based options (Moroccan Vegetarian Burger, Meatless Maverick). The brand is the UK's No.1 Chilled Ready Meals brand and the No.1 micro-snacking brand with a £117.6m retail sales value (Nielsen, 52WE March 2025) inside a £141.5m category.

The product and technology stack is built around two proprietary differentiators. First, Cook in Box packaging — a dual-purpose pack that functions as both a microwave cooking vessel and a product carrier, eliminating preparation mess and patent pending. Second, the Hot Vend Kiosk, launched in October 2023, which dispenses Cook-in-Box burgers within 80 seconds with a 52-product capacity and touchscreen pay-and-go, positioned as a first-to-market automated hot food vending solution. Supporting equipment includes Food-to-Go Unit, Unit+, and Multi-Station configurations, plus a Pico Cooler with Microwave and Coffetek Mistral combi-vending units for OOH deployments at airports, mass transit, higher education, and workplaces.

The business model is predominantly B2B unit-priced product sales (RRP £1.75–£3.25) to convenience stores, forecourts, major multiples (Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's, Iceland, Co-op), and OOH operators, with secondary revenue from equipment supply and leasing (price on application). Go-to-market is sales-led with a dedicated field sales team conducting 6,000+ store visits, supported by trade marketing, free POS kits, tailored planograms, and retailer competitions. The brand runs national TV, radio, social, influencer, and OOH consumer campaigns (e.g., 'Better Than You Think', 'Big Night In', 'Boost Your Burger') and is sustained by a small 18-person brand team within Kepak Group.

Name

Rustlers (a Kepak Group brand)

Legal name

Kepak Convenience Foods

Website

https://kepaktrade.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Rustlers is a UK chilled ready meals and micro-snacking brand owned by Kepak Group, selling flame-grilled burgers, breakfast items, and plant-based options to convenience stores, forecourts, major multiples, and OOH automated retail operators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Chilled Ready Meals & Convenience Food

NAICS

Frozen Specialty Food Manufacturing (311412), Ventilation, Heating, Air-Conditioning, and Commercial Refrigeration Equipment Manufacturing (33341)

SIC

Sausages & Other Prepared Meat Products (2013), Food And Kindred Products (2000), Refrigeration & Service Industry Machinery (3580)

akta.pro primary industry

Chilled/ready-to-heat prepared meals manufacturing (AFAKAHAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cold Prepared Foods & Meal Components (Sides, Proteins, Family Meals) (CRAHAKAC), Frozen Prepared Meat & Seafood Meals (AFANAFAC), Meat, Poultry & Seafood Refrigerated Warehousing (TLALABAC)

Keywords

• Chilled ready meals
• Flame grilled burgers
• Convenience food products
• Automated retail vending
• Food-to-go equipment

Headquarters

HQ city

Preston

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Food Product Sales: Rustlers generates revenue through sale of its chilled ready meal products including burgers, sandwiches, subs, and breakfast items to retailers including convenience stores, forecourts, and OOH operators.
2. Food-to-Go Equipment: Sale and leasing of food-to-go equipment units including microwaves and FTG (Food-to-Go) stations. Equipment includes delivery, setup, and POS kit.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Rustlers manufactures and sells chilled ready meals centred on flame-grilled burgers (beef, pork, chicken), plus breakfast items, sandwiches, subs, and plant-based alternatives, distributed to UK convenience stores, forecourts, major multiples, and Out-of-Home operators. The brand also supplies integrated food-to-go equipment (Food-to-Go Units, Unit+, Multi-Station) and automated retail solutions (Hot Vend Kiosk, Pico Cooler, Coffetek Mistral) with on-pack microwave preparation in 90 seconds. Support services include planograms, free POS kits, and a dedicated field sales team conducting 6,000+ store visits.

Product overview

Rustlers is a food-to-go and chilled ready meals brand owned by Kepak Group. The product portfolio consists of flame grilled burgers (beef, pork, chicken), breakfast items (sausage muffins, pancake stacks), sandwiches and subs, and plant-based alternatives. Products are sold through convenience stores, forecourts, and out-of-home locations via specialized equipment including Food-to-Go units, vending machines, and hot vend kiosks. The brand offers marketing support including POS materials and planogram services to help retailers maximize sales.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cook in Box: Innovative packaging solution allowing shoppers to heat fully assembled burgers without opening the pack
• Meatless Maverick
• Moroccan Vegetarian Burger

Products and services

• Flame Grilled Burgers (Beef, Pork, Chicken Breast) Genuinely flame grilled burgers made with 100% British and Irish beef, 100% British Chicken Breast and 100% British & Irish pork. UK's No.1 Chilled Ready Meals brand. Range includes The Iconic Quarter Pounder, The Ultimate Chicken Sandwich (formerly Southern Fried Chicken Sub), and The Juicy BBQ Rib (formerly BBQ Rib burger). 90-second microwave preparation.
• Cook in Box Range Innovative packaging solution allowing shoppers to heat fully assembled burger without opening pack. Includes All Day Breakfast Sausage Muffin (RRP £2.50), Supreme Cheese Melt Burger (RRP £2.50), and Peri Peri Chicken Tenders Burger (RRP £2.75). Eliminates messy preparation and acts as product carrier for easy on-the-go consumption. Overtrades with younger shoppers — nearly one-third of buyers aged under 35.
• Marinara Meatball Sub Sandwich Sandwich with marinara sauce providing hot new addition to fixture. Replicates Out of Home menu favourites. Available exclusively to convenience channel. RRP £2.30, case size 4.
• All Day Breakfast Pancake Stack Chilled breakfast product featuring three buttermilk pancakes served with maple syrup style sauce. Enters the morning goods category which was experiencing 11% YoY growth.
• Moroccan Vegetarian Burger First ever vegetarian burger from Rustlers made with chickpea, grated carrot and coriander, served with mango chutney and yoghurt mint sauce. RRP £2.00. Targeted at younger shoppers (18-24) and flexitarian consumers.
• Meatless Maverick Burger Plant-based meat mimicking burger made with pea protein. Seeks to mimic Rustlers' bestselling Quarter Pounder with signature sauce. Targets flexitarian and meat reducing diets. Available at Tesco, One Stop and Booker Group. RRP £2, case size 4.
• Food-to-Go Equipment Units (Unit, Unit+, Multi-Station) Small footprint integrated units with microwave, sanitisation station, preparation space, and wipe clean surface. Available in three configurations: Unit (640mm x 2000mm x 800mm), Unit+ (900mm x 2000mm x 800mm), and Multi-Station (1400mm x 2200mm x 700mm). Price on application including delivery, set up and POS kit. Supports 24/7 hot food with zero waste.
• Hot Vend Kiosk Revolutionary hot vending kiosk dispensing Cook-in-Box range burgers within 80 seconds. Capacity for 52 products. Touch screen pay and go with quick dispense technology. 24/7 hot food availability. First-to-market hot vending solution in the UK.
• Pico Cooler with Microwave Pico cooler with microwave alongside for automated retail. Hugely adaptable, can be locked or unlocked. Purchase through pico device with payment via credit/debit card or 365 app. Perfect for introducing food sites or starting micro-market journey. Dimensions: h 2400mm x w 1492mm x d 950mm.
• Coffetek Mistral Combi Vending Quality combi vending offer with built-in microwave and secure vending characteristics. Available branded or un-branded. Satisfies latest hygiene rules. Dimensions: h 2170mm x w 1376mm x d 1250mm.

Quantifiable outcome

• £13.26 average basket value when Rustlers is purchased, 82% above convenience store average
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NebrakcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2022Nebrak is an industry leader in design, manufacture, and installation of vending surrounds, premium vending furniture, micro markets, and catering interiors throughout the UK and Europe for over 30 years. Partnership provides turn-key vending and unattended retail solutions.
• 365 Retail MarketscoreTechnology or Integration · 1 February 2022Global leader of unattended retail technologies and strategic partner with leading operators worldwide. Provides micro market, dining, vending, catering, and touch-less transaction technologies with 24/7/365 international customer support.
• CoffetekcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 February 2022UK-based coffee and vending systems manufacturer with over 30 years of experience, part of Azkoyen Group specialising in design and manufacture of advanced technological solutions. Provides combi vending and hot drinks solutions.
• DeliveroominorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2020Delivery partnership for 'Better Than You Think' campaign enabling Rustlers products to be delivered to consumers.
• FareShareminorOthers · 1 February 2020Charitable partnership through 'You Buy One We Give One' promotion with ASDA, where Rustlers and other suppliers donate products to FareShare food redistribution charity.
• ASDAcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 February 2020ASDA partnered with Rustlers for charitable 'You Buy One We Give One' promotion expected to result in 300,000 Rustlers breakfast products being donated to FareShare. Also major retail customer for Rustlers products.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Greencore Group: Greencore is the UK's largest manufacturer of convenience foods, supplying chilled ready meals, sandwiches, and salads to major retailers. Directly comparable to Kepak Convenience Foods / Rustlers as a B2B supplier of chilled prepared meals to UK grocery and convenience channels.
• Moy Park: Moy Park is one of Europe's largest poultry producers, part of Pilgrim's Pride, supplying fresh and prepared chicken products across UK retail and foodservice. Comparable as a protein-focused convenience food manufacturer with overlapping distribution channels.
• 2 Sisters Food Group: 2 Sisters is one of the UK's largest food manufacturers, producing chilled and frozen ready meals, poultry, and bakery products for major retailers. Comparable as a multi-category UK convenience food manufacturer operating at similar scale to Kepak.
• McCain Foods: McCain is one of the world's largest frozen prepared food producers (chips, pizzas, ready meals) competing with Rustlers in adjacent freezer and chiller space across UK retailers. Comparable in convenience food positioning and impulse meal occasions.
• Birds Eye (Nomad Foods): Birds Eye is one of the UK's leading frozen ready meal brands (part of Nomad Foods), competing in adjacent shelf space with Rustlers. Comparable as a UK heritage ready meal brand distributed through major multiples and convenience channels.
• Bakkavor Group: Bakkavor is a leading UK provider of fresh prepared foods including chilled ready meals, pizzas, and sandwiches supplied to major grocery retailers. Highly comparable business model to Kepak Convenience Foods in producing branded and private-label chilled meals for UK retailers.
• Cranswick plc: Cranswick is a UK food producer focused on pork and convenience foods including chilled ready meals, sausages, and cooked meats. Comparable as a UK protein-focused convenience food manufacturer supplying major retailers and foodservice operators.

Direct peers

• Addo Food Group: Addo Food Group is a UK chilled savoury pastry manufacturer (pies, pasties, quiches) competing for the same convenience food-to-go shopper as Rustlers. Highly comparable in chilled convenience positioning, UK retailer relationships, and impulse-grab meal occasions.
• Bernard Matthews: Bernard Matthews is a UK heritage chilled and frozen ready meals brand (turkey-based products, burgers, convenience meals) directly competing with Rustlers in the same category of UK chilled ready meals sold through major multiples and convenience stores.
• Ginsters (Samworth Brothers): Ginsters is a leading UK chilled savoury pastry brand (Cornish pasties, slices, sandwiches) competing directly with Rustlers for the convenience food-to-go shopper. Highly comparable in terms of UK chilled convenience positioning and impulse-grab shopper occasion.

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kepaktrade
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kepak-convenience-foods

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Rustlers (a Kepak Group brand)