Vincent Kompany plays defense for Foodmaker: Tackling junk food, targeting Europe
Updated: Sep 24
The Belgian fresh-meal producer announced on Wednesday the expansion of its partnership with the former Red Devil and current Bayern Munich manager. As part of this game plan, Foodmaker becomes the main sponsor of the social football club BX Brussels, founded in 2013 by Kompany, while the manager himself steps up to shape and back the brand's European ambitions.
“In top-tier clubs, access to healthy food has long been taken for granted. But Foodmaker allows everyone to eat healthily without spending a lot of time or a fortune,” says Vincent Kompany. The former Manchester City captain, Belgian Red Devils leader, and current Bayern Munich manager – who restored the Bundesliga title to the club in his debut season – combines athletic pedigree with strong media value. Now, he embodies the expansion ambitions of the Westerlo-based fresh meals company. “We now want to roll out this model on a large scale across Europe, starting with Germany, where Foodmaker has built an excellent reputation in recent years,” the brand ambassador states.
The announcement formalizes a two-way partnership: the elite athlete lends his profile to boost the brand's visibility and commercial expansion, while the prepared-meals producer becomes the main sponsor of BX Brussels in return. Foodmaker is buying far more than jersey visibility; the company is explicitly aligning itself with a social mission: “The club offers around 1,300 young people a structured environment through football, emphasizing not only their athletic development, but also their academic success, personal growth, and career prospects,” the press release highlights.
Far from an opportunistic advertising stunt, the deal stands as the natural culmination of a collaboration dating back to 2013. “Foodmaker supported the project from the very beginning by supplying its products to the club for free. Vincent knows our products and shares our philosophy. Partnering on our European development today is the logical next step in this long-standing relationship,” contextualizes Lieven Vanlommel, founder and CEO of Foodmaker.
More Than a Sports Mascot
Vincent Kompany does not appear here primarily as a global celebrity, but as a long-time and, crucially, credible user of the product. His schedule – dictated by training sessions, matches, and travel – serves to illustrate a problem Foodmaker can solve: the lack of time to cook.
The marketing logic is straightforward: elite athletes require strict nutrition; Kompany understands this demand; Foodmaker claims to make high-standard nutrition accessible to the general public; thus, the brand seamlessly bridges the gap between professional athletics and everyday life (and vice versa).
Lieven Vanlommel’s explanation – “if you don't have time to cook, we cook for you” – distills the positioning: Foodmaker turns the product into a service. Consumers are no longer just buying a prepared meal; they are buying time saved without compromising on healthy eating.
As a regular user of Foodmaker products, the Bayern Munich manager becomes a commercial conduit to the German public. By highlighting that the brand is already available via retailer REWE, references to the German market demonstrate that this is no secondary effort, but a primary growth driver. Foodmaker has progressed from a test phase in North Rhine-Westphalia to significantly broader distribution across the group's German network, reaching thousands of REWE supermarkets that are driving strong revenue growth.
The press release also mentions a “future German partnership” with Vincent Kompany – a collaboration that could take several forms: a national ad campaign, Bayern Munich-related activations, product launches tailored for athletes, or other performance and nutrition events. While the exact format for the German market has not yet been confirmed, Foodmaker is clearly aiming to boost brand preference beyond the supermarket shelf.
The Westerlo-based company is keen to be perceived not as a ready-to-eat fast-food chain, but as a production and distribution platform for fresh, healthy meals. The press release underscores several key facts to drive this home: 150,000 meals produced daily; a declared capacity of up to 300,000; an integrated kitchen; presence in major European retail chains; 23 cafés, including two in Paris; company-owned organic crops; and “A-to-Z” production using raw ingredients.
This inventory demonstrates that Foodmaker controls the entire value chain, from field to tray. Rather than simply meeting current demand, the company possesses an infrastructure capable of supporting international expansion from its new complex combining production, offices, and customer experience.
Brand Strategy Built on Being a “Health Partner”
Sports represent more than a simple advertising medium for Foodmaker; they form the core of its brand architecture. Athletes lend credibility to the nutritional promise, while sports clubs help integrate the products into daily routines. Lieven Vanlommel has long championed a close relationship with elite sports. The brand has frequently featured alongside stars such as Kim Clijsters, Tia Hellebaut, Tom Boonen, and other international figures tailored for foreign markets.
This approach generates validation through experience: athletes don't just endorse Foodmaker – they integrate it into their routine. The partnership with the Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee (BOIC) provided another example: Foodmaker was named official supplier to Team Belgium for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, providing meals for athletes, launching a Foodmaker Pro app, and operating a restaurant at the Belgian House.
The brand also developed Foodmaker Pro, a product line engineered to support athletic preparation and post-workout recovery, shifting its status from meal supplier to performance partner. The partnership with Sporting Hasselt goes a step further: Foodmaker opened a permanent café inside the club's facilities under a three-year deal. The concept serves players, youth members, and local residents alike, offering promotional pricing designed to enhance accessibility.
Lieven Vanlommel positions his products precisely where people work out, drop off their children, relax, or refuel after physical activity. This is a strategy of contextual distribution: healthy prepared meals appear at the exact moment the health messaging is most compelling.
“No marketing tricks. Just real food, ready when you need it.” A partnership entering its fifth year makes this strategy tangible: Foodmaker restaurants inside Sportoase complexes. The Belgian chain, known for its extensive sports facilities ranging from Olympic pools to health clubs, completed its health offering by integrating nutrition.
In February, the two companies inaugurated their tenth venue in Sint-Niklaas. “Where we provide the infrastructure for movement, Foodmaker translates that healthy lifestyle onto the plate. It's a perfect partnership,” reiterated Michaël Schouwaerts, CEO of the Sportoase group and an avid triathlete.
In March, Lieven Vanlommel, Martijn Houben (Sport & Event Manager), and board member Maarten Van den Eynde founded the non-profit organization Foodmaker Sports, dedicated to promoting an active, healthy lifestyle to the general public through exercise and balanced nutrition. The non-profit is authorized to carry out secondary commercial activities – such as sales at events or fundraising – on the express condition that all profits generated are directed entirely toward fulfilling its non-profit purpose.
