Maven Capital Partners has led a £2.1 million investment in FodaBox (formerly BoroughBox), a provider of logistical services to over 1,400 independent food and drink brands.

The investment comprises £1.5 million from Maven’s VCTs alongside £600,000 from angel investors. This will enable the business to expand its operations, open a third warehouse, develop its software and analytical tools further, and launch its own private-label products.

A vision to feed Britain in a more resilient and sustainable way lies behind multimillion-pound plans to create the world’s largest vertical farm, 

Alorsfaim, a Paris-based e-grocery company specializing in authentic and high-quality Asian food, has raised €4M in seed funding, enabling the fast-growing start-up to continue its rapid expansion across the vast Asian community in France and Europe. The round was led by iFly.vc with participation from Cathay Innovation and Goodwater Capital.

Pembroke VCT, the venture capital trust focused on backing early-stage businesses with exceptional founders and management teams, has invested £1m into Peckwater Brands, the creator of data-driven virtual food brands, which develops delivery-only, fully-serviced food concepts to increase revenue for existing restaurants, its franchisees.

Maidenhead based company, Made for Drink, has secured a £300k loan from the Thames Valley Berkshire (TVB) Funding Escalator to develop its product range and enable the creation of 13 new jobs.

German-based drinks technology, air up, has successfully closed its latest funding round having raised over EUR 40 million. This is after completing their Series A fundraise at the beginning of the year. The investment round, led by Five Seasons Ventures (co-led by PepsiCo, Ippen.Media, Oyster Bay), was in part based on the rapid growth trajectory in the German speaking countries and across Europe over the past 12 months.

London-based startup, BEPPS Snacks, are all about their pea, pulse and grain snacks, whilst hero’ing the black eyed pea; the Great Taste Award winning brand is pioneering healthy, plant-based snacks that are loved by the whole family. 2021 sees the announcement of £400,000 investment from early-stage venture capital investors, Ascension Ventures, who seek to back entrepreneurs making healthy eating accessible to all with the ‘Good Food Fund’ (a fund also backed by challenger brand builders, Mission Ventures and Big Society Capital).

Worcestershire-based Sustainable bag-in-box wine brand, When in Rome, has secured £375,000 from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) West Midlands Equity Fund, managed by Midven (part of the Future Planet Capital Group).  Having already secured listings with Waitrose, Ocado and Amazon, the MEIF funding will allow When in Rome to accelerate its growth by upscaling its marketing activities and expanding distribution. The investment also supports three key hires and two contractor roles. 

Turquoise, the UK merchant bank specialising in energy, environment and efficiency, has invested in bio-bean for the Low Carbon Innovation Fund 2 (LCIF2). The investment of £350,000 is part of an overall round of £1.25million.  The round was led by LCIF2 with the participation of 2Enable Partners, Stellar Impact and the Gresham House Renewable Energy venture capital trusts (VCTs). 

OLIO, the community sustainability app, has announced a $43million Series B round to fund its fight against the $1.3trillion of food waste created globally each year.  Founded in London in 2015 by Tessa Clarke and Saasha Celestial-One, OLIO has amassed a user base of five million people. The app is used to give away unwanted food and other household items to neighbours, for free, with the aim of reducing waste in the home and helping people to consume more locally and sustainably. 

BurdaPrincipal Investments (BPI), the growth capital arm of media and tech company Hubert Burda Media, has invested in UK-based Oddbox, a platform that is leveraging technology to fight food waste. BPI has invested a total of £16m, comprising a combination of primary and secondary investment. 

Howard Town Brewery has secured a £150,000 funding package from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) East & South East Midlands Debt Finance fund, managed by Maven Capital Partners and backed by the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).