In 2024, an Australian couple pivoted their meal-planning startup; 2 years later, revenue jumped from $1.2 million to $3.5 million

Elise and Toby Hilliam made a decision that could have easily backfired. Their meal-planning startup had paying subscribers. The business was generating about $400,000 from consumer subscriptions. Yet the husband-and-wife founders chose to remove the paywall.

Appetise became free. Giving away the main product may have sounded like a step backwards. Revenue soon told a different story. The company moved from a consumer subscription model into food industry data.

By early 2026, Appetise had reached $3.5 million in business-to-business revenue. Revenue had almost tripled from $1.2 million during the previous six months. A $7 million Series A funding round followed.

How Appetise Began as MenuAid

The Appetise story began during the pandemic. Toby Hilliam already had startup experience. He founded the circular economy platform Mutu in 2019. Lockdowns later created a different problem inside the Hilliam household.

Planning meals was tiring. Shopping for the required ingredients added another task.

Toby and Elise started MenuAid in 2021. They did this for families to allow them to select their recipes easily and even make grocery lists. Users paid a subscription fee for access.

The service solved a common problem. Yet the subscription model placed a natural limit on its audience. Every new customer had to decide whether meal planning was worth another monthly payment. A larger opportunity gradually emerged from the way people used the platform.

Why MenuAid Became Appetise in 2024

Food companies spend heavily trying to understand why shoppers choose one product over another. Traditional consumer research often depends on surveys. Participants are asked what they remember buying. They may also be asked what they intend to purchase.

Answers do not always reflect real behavior. MenuAid could see how households planned meals inside its platform. It could observe which recipes attracted attention. Shopping-list activity revealed another layer of intent.

The founders recognized that aggregated behavior could be valuable to food brands. MenuAid later was rebranded as Appetize. It happened after the founders brought a huge transformation in their business model in 2024.

Consumers gained free access. Appetise began earning money through an insights platform built for fast-moving consumer goods companies.

SmartCompany reported that the founders walked away from about $400,000 in consumer subscription revenue during the transition. Eighteen months later, the company had reached $3.5 million in B2B revenue.

How the Free Appetise Platform Works

Appetise now offers a free meal-planning app in Australia and New Zealand. Users can choose from more than 3,500 recipes. The app creates a list of required ingredients. Shoppers can then move toward checkout with participating supermarkets.

The consumer side still needs to be genuinely useful. A weak app would generate little activity. Poor engagement would also reduce the value of its insights.

Appetise therefore has to grow two connected products. Households need an easier way to plan dinner. Food brands need reliable information about buying decisions.

Each side supports the other. More active users produce a richer picture of consumer behavior. Brand revenue can then fund improvements to the free app.

Forbes reported that Appetise had more than 110,000 active users by 2026. The company also worked with over 150 fast-moving consumer goods brands.

How Appetise Makes Money From Consumer Insights

Appetise does not simply tell brands which products appeared in a shopping basket. Its pitch focuses on the thinking behind the choice.

A food company may want to know which meals include its product. It may also want to understand why shoppers reject an alternative. Recipe planning adds context that supermarket sales data may miss.

Appetise sells aggregated insights rather than relying only on individual survey responses. Brands can use the findings when developing products. The information can also shape advertising decisions.

Kraft Heinz and Lee Kum Kee were among the businesses reported as customers. Baby food company Only Organic also used the platform.

Around 70 Australian brands signed up within a year of the local launch. Australia soon accounted for about 70% of the company’s growth.

What Appetise Learned About Australian Shoppers

The Australian data challenged some early assumptions. Regional food preferences were stronger than the company expected. Greek and Lebanese influences appeared in some communities. Italian and Indian cuisines also shaped everyday choices.

Simplified versions of familiar dishes did not always appeal to people who regularly ate the original cuisine. Health preferences created another difference between Australia and New Zealand.

Australian users appeared more focused on protein goals. They also paid closer attention to calories. Fat content and other nutritional measurements influenced recipe choices.

New Zealand users were more likely to describe a meal as healthy in broader terms, according to Elise Hilliam. Price produced another surprise.

Australian shoppers remained value-conscious. Yet the lowest price did not always win. Many users appeared willing to spend more for better flavor or quality. Experimentation also mattered. Australian users were reportedly more open to changing meals from one week to the next.

Appetise Revenue Tripled After the Pivot

The financial impact arrived quickly. Elise Hilliam told Forbes Australia that revenue climbed from $1.2 million to $3.5 million within six months. She described the rise as a tripling of revenue.

The growth helped Appetise secure an oversubscribed A$7 million Series A round in February 2026. Icehouse Ventures led the investment. Ten13 joined the round. Existing backers included OIF Ventures and NZVC.

Ten13 said Appetise had created a link between recipe discovery and grocery checkout. The investor argued that food marketers could learn not only what shoppers bought, but also why they chose it.

Why the Appetise Pivot Worked

Appetise did more than rename its product. The company reconsidered who received the greatest value from its technology. Consumers wanted help without another subscription. Food companies were prepared to pay for behavioral insights.

Making the app free removed a barrier for households. A larger user base strengthened the data product.

The founders accepted an immediate revenue loss to pursue a larger market. Their decision was risky. It also changed the economics of the business.

Appetise no longer sells meal plans alone. It sells a window into how thousands of households decide what to eat.

FAQs

Who founded Appetise?

Husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Toby Hilliam and Elise Hilliam founded the company. The platform originally launched as MenuAid.

How does Appetise make money?

Appetise sells aggregated consumer behavior insights to food companies. Consumers can use its meal-planning platform for free.