Grub Club: ‘Healthy, happy people are more productive’

Whether it's getting your steps in, or eating a more balanced diet, wellbeing can mean different things to different people. But, for one brand, it's the wellbeing of our four-legged friends that takes the lead.

Founded in 2021 by Alessandro (Ale) Di Trapani and Hugh Petit, pet-food start-up Grub Club set out to create sustainable, insect protein-based dog food.

They’re a small London-based business made up of seven team members and ‘Chief Eating Officer’, Bagel the dachshund, who taste tests the products alongside his human co-workers.

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‘If one of us is out, it really has a profound impact’

Operating as a small team, having just one person off sick can have a major impact on the business.

“Each of us wears a lot of hats,” explains Jake Foster, who heads up the creative side of Grub Club. “If one of us is out, it really has a profound impact on the work that gets done.”

That’s why Grub Club chose to put employee wellbeing at the heart of how they work. Given Ale’s positive personal experiences with Vitality, the choice was straightforward.

“I’ve been using the Vitality product for as long as I can remember,” Ale explains. “I wanted to pass [Vitality health insurance on] and make sure the Grub Club team felt the same way,” he adds.

‘Having quick access to a GP is really important'

In recent years, fast access to a range of everyday healthcare benefits such as virtual GPs, mental health support and physio have become standout features of private medical insurance (PMI) plans, alongside more traditional private hospital diagnostics and treatment.

For small businesses, these services can be especially valuable in helping teams to manage more common, everyday health needs and intervening early to prevent more serious issues from arising.

“When someone's off sick, we all feel it,” Hugh explains, “so we ultimately want to avoid that if we can”.

Across Grub Club, the team has used Vitality for support in a variety of areas. “I’ve used the medical side of things a lot,” says Ale, while Jake has found that having “quick access to a GP is really important”.

‘The mental health benefits have been really useful’

Mental health is an area of focus for businesses of all sizes, but the stresses involved in running a small start-up can be especially challenging. “It's hard work being the founder of a business,” says Hugh.

He often finds the Headspace app a useful way to “de-stress” and “process his thoughts”, particularly when exercising or going on long walks.

Ale also points to services such as Talking Therapies or Headspace, which he says have “been really useful in providing mental health focused assistance and support” when he’s needed it.

‘The rewards make you want to be better, be healthier’

Given the well-known links between poor health, lack of exercise and diet, helping employees to adopt and maintain healthy habits is a growing area of focus for many workplace wellbeing programmes.

For this to be effective, engagement is key. This is why the Vitality Programme is built around a clever set of nudges and incentives to help people drive and sustain long-lasting healthy habits.

“The way in which you're able to earn points each week, maintain your status, track the things that you're doing in terms of physical activity and maintaining your mental health,” is useful according to Ale. “All of those steps just mean people are more plugged in to their personal wellbeing,” he adds.

Hugh says that “there are great rewards along the way that make you want to be better, be happier, be healthier”.

‘Getting a free itsu with my health insurance was not on my bingo card’ 

But the Vitality Programme doesn’t just help the Grub Club team to stay fit and active.

The rewards help transform their workplace PMI proposition into a more rounded benefits package – offering access to rewards such as discounted running shoes and free itsu meals.

At a time when businesses and individuals are feeling the squeeze, these benefits can help employers to maximise value from their plans and give staff access to the perks and benefits that they want.

“Getting a free itsu with my health insurance was not on my bingo card,” Jake says.

Ultimately, access to these benefits, alongside traditional PMI, can help make staff feel more valued and more supported both inside and outside of the workplace.

“It's amazing to have bosses who genuinely care about me as an employee and as a person,” Jake adds.

This isn’t just good for individual employees, it’s good for business too.

 “Vitality was always a no-brainer because ultimately healthy people are happy people and happy people are much more productive,” Ale concludes.

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