10 tech startups disrupting food industry in UK in 2020
UK is one of the best hubs of tech startups, and it is also home to plenty of food-tech startups. Several players act as food community leaders and contribute to make the London ecosystem one of the main interesting in the world. According to a report by Dealroom and Four Seasons Ventures, Europe produced 9 unicorns in Food Tech, in particular in the Food Delivery segment, in the past five years.
YFood, the House of Food Tech organises London Food Tech Week every year and we got to find some of the most innovative food tech startups over there and we think you should know about them too. Let’s take a look!
Pizzapilgrims
Founder/s: Thom Elliot, James Elliot
Founded year: 2017
Funding: NA
Pizzapilgrims is set out to offer slow proved Neapolitan pizza at their brand stores and at various events in the UK. To make pizzas as fresh as possible, the company sources fresh ingredients on a day-to-day basis. After all, like every good pizza, Pizzapilgrims is also known for its crust.
Harvest London
Founder/s: Chris Davies
Founded year: 2017
Funding: NA
Harvest London was started with an aim to make a sustainable food system. The company has incorporated modern agriculture techniques like Hydroponic Farming in a controlled environment. The company works in tandem with customers and only produces according to the demand, thus eliminating food waste at the very bottom of the food chain.
Small Robot Company
Founder/s: Ben Scott-Robinson, Sam Watson Jones
Founded year: 2017
Funding: €2.2M
If the name Small Robot Company didn’t ring any bell, then let me tell you that this food-tech startup aims to produce food in a sustainable way using small robots. The company has engineered several robots to automate processes like planting, feeding, and removing weed from the farm without human intervention.
Airponix
Founder/s: Michael Ruggier, John Prewer
Founded year: 2014
Funding: NA
Airponix is an award-winning biotechnology company that uses smart soil-less agricultural practices to offer higher yield with minimal risk to farmers. When compared to the primitive agricultural techniques, technologies used by Airponix offer healthy food crops and healthy food products that don’t get affected by climate change.
Aeropowder
Founder/s: Ryan Robinson, Elena Dieckmann
Founded year: 2016
Funding: €50K
Aeropowder is a company that knows that the earth only has a limited/finite amount of resources. This food-tech startup uses materials like surplus feathers to make a product like thermal packaging material, that is widely used in this era of e-commerce. The company is also planning to make several products using surplus and waste materials to make a positive impact on the environment.
Caulibox
Founder/s: Josephine Liang
Founded year: NA
Funding: NA
Do you know that the UK generates 11 billion pieces of single-use plastic every year. Caulibox is on a mission to reduce this number by offering takeout food in sustainable packaging. The company makes reusable lunch boxes that are affordable and also have a positive impact on the environment.
Boo Chi
Founder/s: Eaoifa Forward
Founded year: 2017
Funding: NA
If you are a kombucha enthusiast, then Boo Chi is the brand you should know. The company uses traditional far eastern methods to brew kombucha, which tastes great and also has many health benefits as well. The company offers kombucha in five different flavours with fancy packing.
It’s Fresh
Founder/s: Simon Lee, Greg Pavett
Founded year: 2010
Funding: NA
It’s Fresh is all about supplying fresh food using technology. The company makes products that are made using sustainable and recycled materials. It’s Fresh offers filters that absorb natural riping gases, which helps to maintain the freshness of fruits and vegetables.
3FBio
Founder/s: Craig Johnston, Jim Laird
Founded year: 2015
Funding: €28M
3FBio is a food-tech company that makes protein from sustainable sources. It uses grains to produce different by-products such as protein and ethanol, which is used as fuel to run the process using the patented integrated fermentation process.
Mini Mealtimes
Founder/s: Marie Farmer
Founded year: 2018
Funding: NA
Mini Mealtimes is an app for Android/iOS devices that helps parents to plan means for their kids. The app also offers consultations with top dietitians from the UK with various packages.