Lexington Catering has today announced a major new partnership with Virgin Active UK, who has become Lexington’s first commercial retail partner.
Lexington Catering will now be providing food and drink in Virgin Active’s 43 clubs across the UK, under the ‘Athleat’ food brand.
Lexington is implementing a series of changes across the sites, enhancing the food and beverages provided in the clubs. The changes are being made over a nine-month period and will further enhance the food and beverage offering to Virgin Active members.
Mike Sunley, CEO at Lexington, said, “We are super-excited about the new partnership with Virgin Active. Our values are perfectly aligned, and our chef development team has really led the way when it comes to health and wellbeing, so it seems like the perfect partnership. We look forward to building this relationship, bringing in new efficiency and supporting the club to deliver excellent service.”
The partnership marks a new chapter for Lexington, branching out beyond business and industry, providing food and drink to people outside their place of work. Mike Sunley says, “We have always worked hard to compete with the food offer on the high-street and the partnership with Virgin Active is a fantastic opportunity to show consumers what the Lexington team can do. Our ambition is to develop the retail market and expand our offer to reach a wider market.”
Robert Cook, Virgin Active UK Managing Director, said, “At Virgin Active we want to turn the ordinary gym into a true lifestyle experience for members, and that means continually investing and innovating in all areas of the business – from the gym floor to the café. From getting insight from our personal trainers to enabling members to pre-order their food, this new partnership with Lexington strengthens our commitment to making exercise truly irresistible.”
The Lexington team will work closely with personal trainers to ensure the food offer supports members’ health goals. The team has also been working with personalised food experts, Vitamojo, to develop a revolutionary digital platform, bringing fitness and food together to improve the member experience.
Members will be able to pre-order food through the app and website for when their workouts finish, as well as access nutritional information, or simply order from the counter.
The framework created by Lexington and Vitamojo will enable the team to ensure the food and fitness aspects of Virgin Active work together to give 360 degree wellness to members.