Clean Food Group - a pioneering UK-based food-tech business developing cultivated food, has announced that it is one step closer to producing a viable yeast-based alternative to palm oil.

The One Planet Pizza team first pitched to the Anglia Capital Group Angels in January 2021 and immediately impressed with their big personalities, delicious pizzas and solid business plan. They were successful again in March this year, once again securing equity funding as part of their next fundraising round.  

Just three months after its pre-seed round, an impressive group of Europe’s leading food tech entrepreneurs, startup founders and investors have joined Berlin food tech company, Perfeggt. 

ape2o, a company that is looking to eradicate bottled water waste by setting up a network of sophisticated vending machines for ‘on the go’ customers, has received investment from Henley Business Angels members as part of a total funding round of £500k.  UK consumers buy 8 billion plastic water bottles a year, with 80% of them ending up in landfills or oceans. They then leach micro-plastics and chemicals in the water that people go on to consume.  With bottled water customers also paying approximately £2 per 500ml (more than twice the comparative cost of petrol), ape2o provides a solution with its vending machines, without the need for plastic bottles and at a fraction of the price.

A food & drink producer based across Lincolnshire has secured £250,000 to upgrade its production facilities, create eight jobs and service its growing customer base.  Wild Jacks Ltd secured the finance from Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), provided by The FSE Group Debt Finance Fund and backed by the Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS). The MEIF funding will help to upgrade the company’s production facilities and create eight new jobs in the next year.

Nottinghamshire-based halal baby food manufacturer, For Aisha Baby Foods (For Aisha), has received a £400,000 investment to develop new product ranges and meet overseas demand.

Growing artisan pizza business, Birtelli’s, has secured £500,000 funding from Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) West Midlands Equity Fund, managed by Midven, part of the Future Planet Capital Group, for its innovative home baked pizza kit service which offers customers a fun and unique home dining experience.

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.