What started as a personal quest for healthier living has grown into one of the MENA region’s most prominent food-tech companies, reshaping how people approach daily nutrition. Calo, founded by Ahmed Alrawi and Moayed Almoayed, has successfully delivered over 10 million meals by building a platform centered on deep personalization and operational control.
From A Founder’s Pivot To A Scalable Vision
The journey to Calo began with a valuable lesson in scalability. Co-founder Ahmed Alrawi, a computer engineer by training, first launched Malaeb, an app for booking sports venues. While the product gained traction, Alrawi recognized its market limitations. In 2019, he made the difficult decision to step away and search for a problem with a much larger scope.
This search led him to a widespread challenge in the region: despite a growing interest in wellness, healthy eating remained inconvenient and difficult to maintain. The idea for Calo was born from this friction, aiming to make precise, personalized nutrition an effortless part of daily life. The mission solidified when he met his co-founder, Moayed Almoayed, whose background in investment and strategic operations complemented Alrawi’s product-focused vision.
Building A Vertically Integrated Powerhouse
Founded in Bahrain in 2019, Calo was built with a clear focus on genuine personalization, not just convenience. The company’s app utilizes nutritional algorithms to create tailored meal plans based on user data, including age, weight, activity level, and dietary needs.
However, Calo’s key differentiator is its vertically integrated model. The company chose to control the entire value chain, from sourcing ingredients and preparing meals in its own kitchens to packaging and delivery. This full-stack approach ensures consistency and quality at scale, positioning Calo not as a marketplace but as an outcome-driven health-tech company. Users subscribe to results—such as improved energy and performance—rather than just meals.
Data-Driven Expansion Across The Gulf
After a quiet launch and refinement period in Bahrain, Calo began its regional expansion. The company entered Saudi Arabia in 2021, followed by successful launches in the UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar. Each new market presented unique operational hurdles, but the core thesis proved universal: data-driven personalization is a highly scalable model.
By 2024, Calo had delivered more than 10 million meals, a testament to its strong customer retention. The platform’s ability to adapt to users’ changing goals and lifestyles has been crucial to its success, turning customers into long-term subscribers.
Securing Growth And Expanding The Platform
Calo’s growth was further accelerated by a $25 million Series B funding round. The capital was earmarked for deepening customization capabilities, entering new markets, and strengthening its operational infrastructure, including kitchens, systems, and talent.
The company is now expanding its vision beyond daily meals to become a comprehensive health and wellness platform. With new products like Calo Kids, it is addressing family nutrition while laying the groundwork to integrate fitness and other lifestyle data. The ambition is to make healthy living sustainable for busy professionals and families across the region, operating as a reliable health utility rather than just a lifestyle brand.
About Calo
Calo is a food-tech company specializing in personalized nutrition. Through its app, it uses nutritional algorithms to create and deliver tailored meal plans based on individual health goals, controlling the entire value chain from ingredient sourcing to delivery. The platform aims to make healthy living easy, accessible, and sustainable for individuals and families across the Middle East.
Source: Arab Founders
