Ten per cent of the businesses featured in BusinessCloud’s inaugural Founder 250 list are in the food and drink sector.
The UK-wide list celebrates 250 of the country’s best founder-led and founder-influenced businesses.
RSM UK is the headline sponsor of the Founder 250, alongside law firm CG, property specialist OBI and investor Mercia Ventures.
In 2017, Simmy Dhillon was studying at university when he saw how students were living off poor-quality ready meals, and Simmer was the result.
He convinced his brother Jhai (a former professional footballer and certified nutritionist) and his mother (the woman who taught him how to cook) to get involved. He started with £10 of ingredients in his uni kitchen and has bootstrapped the business to more than £50m in revenue.
Simmer is not the only premium meal prep company included in the Founder 250 list.
George Taylor founded meal prep service Frive in 2017 and has now delivered more than 25 million meals to celebrity customers, including actor Simon Pegg and singer Rita Ora.
FuelHub founders Michelle and James Laithwaite are on a mission to change the way we eat, and they won’t take no for an answer.
James is a former rugby league player and launched premium meal prep delivery firm FuelHub in 2019 with his now-wife Michelle on the day their son Stanley was born.
Sports promoter Eddie Hearn started as a customer before his Matchroom business became an official partner.
TikTok stars
Brothers Jacob and Harley Nelson are better known as SpudBros, which has more than 5 million followers on TikTok, and are now sponsors of Preston North End.
Nisha Katona MBE is the founder of Mowgli Street Food restaurants and the Mowgli Trust charity.
Founded in 2014, she used all her savings to open the first Mowgli Street Food restaurant in Liverpool and hasn’t looked back.
Mowgli Street Food is recognised as one of the nation’s fastest-growing companies. Katona was awarded an MBE in 2019 for services to the food industry.
Although not essential, the Founder 250 judges were looking for businesses with a clear purpose, including B Corp status, ESG strategies or a commitment to charity or social impact.
To qualify, companies must have a significant UK presence, be cash-generative and have been founded no later than 2024.
Note: Every effort has been made to check the accuracy of the information on the list. However, if you spot any errors, please email us here.
| Founder name(s) | Company | Sector | Founded | Location | Region | Full profile | Female founder? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amelia Christie-Miller & Ed Whelpton | Bold Bean Co | Food & drink | 2021 | London | Greater London | Full profile | ✔ |
| Amy Moring & Jeff Webster | Hunter & Gather | Food & drink | 2017 | London | Greater London | Full profile | ✔ |
| Aneisha Soobroyen & Jack Walker | Scrumbles | Food & drink | 2018 | London | Greater London | Full profile | ✔ |
| Bethan Higson | Mother Root | Food & drink | 2019 | London | Greater London | Full profile | ✔ |
| Dr Guy Sandelowsky & Shiv Sivakumar | Omni Pet | Food & drink | 2020 | London | Greater London | Full profile | |
| George Rice | Serious Pig | Food & drink | 2009 | Slough | Greater London | Full profile | |
| George Taylor | Frive | Food & drink | 2016 | London | Greater London | Full profile | |
| Helena & Simon Hills | TrueStart Coffee | Food & drink | 2015 | Bristol | South West | Full profile | ✔ |
| Ian O'Donohue | Harry Brompton’s | Food & drink | 2013 | London | Greater London | Full profile | |
| Jack Morrison & Marcus Mollinga | Zooki | Food & drink | 2017 | Blackpool | North West | Full profile | |
| Jacob & Harley Nelson | SpudBros | Food & drink | 2020 | Preston | North West | Full profile | |
| James & Michelle Laithwaite | FuelHub | Food & drink | 2019 | Warrington | North West | Full profile | ✔ |
| Joe Harper & Andy Sugden | Just Bee Honey | Food & drink | 2015 | Manchester | North West | Full profile | |
| Kim Innes | Humble Crumble | Food & drink | 2018 | London | Greater London | Full profile | ✔ |
| Malissa & Scott Fraser | Angus & Oink | Food & drink | 2014 | Aberdeen | Scotland | Full profile | ✔ |
| Marisa Poster, Levi & Teddie Levenfiche | PerfectTed | Food & drink | 2021 | London | Greater London | Full profile | ✔ |
| Mark Morley & William Fishenden | Prep Kitchen | Food & drink | 2015 | Southfleet | South East | Full profile | |
| Nick Hird & Rob Bennett-Baggs | Vidrate | Food & drink | 2019 | Keighley | Yorks & Humber | Full profile | |
| Nico Jacquart & Oliver Mernick-Levene | Secret Food Tours | Food & drink | 2013 | London | Greater London | Full profile | |
| Nisha Katona MBE | Mowgli Street Food | Food & drink | 2014 | Liverpool | North West | Full profile | ✔ |
| Olivia Ferdi & Daniel Khoury | Trip | Food & drink | 2019 | London | Greater London | Full profile | ✔ |
| Sarah Louise Fairburn | Imp & Maker | Food & drink | 2020 | Coningsby | Midlands | Full profile | ✔ |
| Scott Davies | Hilltop Honey | Food & drink | 2011 | Newtown | Wales | Full profile | |
| Simmy & Jhai Dhillon | Simmer Eats | Food & drink | 2017 | Hitchin | South East | Full profile | |
| Simon Mellin | Modern Milkman | Food & drink | 2019 | Manchester | North West | Full profile |