In a bid to “branch out beyond business and industry,” Lexington chief executive, Mike Sunley, explained: “(Lexington) has 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.”
The partnership, which kicked off in the New Year (18 January), will see the catering company “implement a series of changes across Virgin sites” over a nine-month period.
These include: enhancing Virgin’s food and drink offering under the ‘Athleat’ food brand; working alongside personal trainers to ensure food supports members’s health goals; working with personalised food experts, Vitamojo, to develop a digital platform and enable members to pre-order food and view nutritional information through the app.
Sunley added: “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.”
Virgin Active UK managing director, Robert Cook, commented: “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.”