

In the bustling landscape of the United Arab Emirates, where fast-paced lifestyles often sideline health priorities, Kcal has emerged as a beacon for nutritious and convenient dining. Founded on the desire to provide transparent, healthy, and delectable food options, Kcal has transformed the way residents approach their diets. With a commitment to taste-first recipes that don’t compromise on health, Kcal offers a diverse range of meal plans tailored to individual needs. In this exclusive interview by Chic Icon, we delve into the journey of Kcal with its Co-Founder Andreas L Borgmann, exploring their innovative approach to meal planning, the philosophy behind their success, and their unwavering dedication to enhancing the well-being of their clientele.
Chic Icon: Kcal has helped thousands of people to lose weight and improve their health. Why did you start Kcal and how did you get so fixated on helping people get healthier?
Kcal: Kcal actually started because I just wanted a place to eat healthy, tasty food with complete transparency in what’s in it. There weren’t a lot of options in the UAE where you could find this.
Once we had our first restaurants, we saw regulars coming in for breakfast, lunch, and dinner consistently to get in better shape. Then, Kcal Meal Plans was the next step.
We already had a team of chefs and nutritionists so we created a meal plan that was packed with nutrition, calorie-specific, and delivered to their home to remove as many of the obstacles to losing weight as possible.
To be able to create a business that could help people every day, and help them live better and healthier lives, that is an incredibly fulfilling and worthwhile life. We actually call it “True Healthcare” because prevention is far better than treating the symptoms.
Our meal plans have actually helped people with weight loss, diabetes management, post-pregnancy, and more. It’s actually amazing how many conditions can be managed or prevented through a good diet.


Chic Icon: We’ve heard a lot about your fantastic meal plans but can you walk us through the typical experience for new customers? What exactly can new “Kcal-ers” expect?
Kcal: So we have, I think, 9 different meal plans currently. They also come in different “sizes” depending on how many calories you need. We have meal plans for variety, local tastes, diabetic-specific, gluten-free, vegetarian, pescatarian, one for post-pregnancy, a body-building plan, and one for overall wellness, for people who just want to stay healthy and feel better.
When you buy a meal plan, you get a nutritionist consultation and an InBody assessment so we can really understand what your body needs. Then, we, our nutritionists, put together a plan for you after we’ve figured out what you can and like to eat. Over the years, we’ve designed more than 5,000 healthy dishes but right now, I think we offer around 2,000, which is still more than enough.
Anyway, once you download the Kcal Meal Plan app, you’ll be able to see all the meals we’ve picked for you, but if you don’t like any, just use the app and switch them out as many times as you like. If you’re like me and like ordering from a menu, it’s actually a really cool and fun experience being able to choose your food for a month or however long you’re on a plan for.
All the meals you choose have a balanced macro-profile, have a significant amount of protein, and are calorie-efficient, so, whatever you choose, you’ll stay in a healthy and sustainable calorie deficit but won’t feel hungry. We even throw in a few sweet treats in there because one of the main reasons people break their diets is because they refuse to satisfy their sweet cravings and then binge. Everyone at Kcal has worked to create a really cool service. One I’m proud to put my name to and I eat myself.
Then we deliver it to your door or office in the morning or night before so you have a fresh, convenient meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.


Chic Icon: With so many tasty and creative meal items in your plan, how do you create your menus? Is it nutrition-first or is it taste before health?
Kcal: Taste first. Always. We’re not going to make people miserable while trying to live their lives. You can always tweak a good recipe to make it healthy but if you start the other way around, if no one is going to eat it, the whole exercise is pointless. That’s one of the reasons we’ve removed dishes from our menu. We listened to our customers and removed the less popular dishes. They were still good but the ones we have now are better.
Chic Icon: There are so many things that we love about Kcal. What do you think draws the people of UAE in? What specifically do you think has made Kcal the go-to for meal plans and healthy dining?
Kcal: We always put the customer first. One of the coincidental benefits of having a restaurant business alongside a meal plans business is that, if ever something goes wrong, which is rarely, we offer people a replacement from one of our equally healthy restaurants that we can deliver within an hour.
Also, the UAE is such a busy, fast-paced place. People don’t have a lot of time and they love convenience. We’re constantly innovating. We brought out the Kcal FIT this year which is a smartwatch that counts your steps, calories, etc., that syncs to our app so you can see calories in vs. calories out on a day-to-day basis. Now that’s cool. As far as I’m aware, I think we’re the only company in the world to take it this far. Certainly, the first in the Gulf.


Chic Icon: Finally, do you have any “one-size-fits-all advice” for our readers who might be looking to take the first step to improving their lifestyle?
Kcal: Get out there and stay active. I go to the gym not to build muscle but for the biochemical benefits. The gym releases endorphins that keep me going. My wife calls it “happy juice.” Whenever I feel my mood drops, I exercise.
Secondly, the fuel you give your body plays a huge, often understated, role in your quality of life. Like I said before, you can’t beat True Healthcare. It helps your mindset and without the right mindset, you perceive life as a lot tougher than it is.
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