Soul Kitchen, the award-winning instant soup challenger, has secured investment from entrepreneur and Tropic Skincare founder Susie Ma on BBC’s Dragons’ Den.
Founder Bella Acland accepted an offer of £40,000 in exchange for 15% of the business after pitching her vision to reinvent the instant soup category with premium, plant-powered products made from real vegetables and nothing artificial.
Since filming the episode last year, Soul Kitchen has grown sales by more than 920%, sold nearly half a million soups and expanded its retail presence to more than 100 independent stockists across the UK.
The brand has also secured a listing with Eurostar, launched its functional Soul Kitchen+ range and partnered with clean-label nutrition brand Purition to manufacture its products in Shropshire.
Bella said: “Growing up, I never missed an episode of Dragons’ Den. My family watched it every week, and I was fascinated by the entrepreneurs behind the businesses, so standing in the Den with Soul Kitchen felt like a genuine full-circle moment.
The episode was filmed almost a year ago, and so much has happened since then. This has been our biggest year yet, with Soul Kitchen growing its customer base, expanding into new retail partnerships and continuing to challenge perceptions of what convenience food can be.
Now that the episode has aired, I’m excited to share our story with a much wider audience. I started Soul Kitchen to show that convenience doesn’t have to mean compromise – that products made with real ingredients, bold flavours and thoughtful nutrition can deliver something better for today’s shoppers. We’re excited for the next stage of the journey as we continue to grow the brand.”
A lifelong food enthusiast, Bella Acland grew up cooking with her parents before gaining experience in professional kitchens, sparking her passion for creating better convenience food.
An entrepreneurship grant from Santander Universities gave Bella the confidence to turn her healthy eating idea into a business. She began developing recipes in her university kitchen, teaching herself product development and the fundamentals of building a food brand.
After gaining experience with several high-growth FMCG start-ups, Bella identified an opportunity to reinvent one of the supermarket’s most overlooked categories: instant food.
Launched in March 2024, Soul Kitchen offers the UK’s only premium instant soup range made with real vegetable powders, herbs, spices and superfoods instead of artificial flavours or excess salt and sugar. Every product is 100% plant-based, gluten-free, palm oil-free, contains no added sugar and is free from artificial colours, gums and emulsifiers.
The company has since expanded beyond its original range with Soul Kitchen+, introducing functional recipes including High Protein Supergreens Soup Blend and Mushroom Soup with Lion’s Mane as it positions itself at the intersection of wellness and convenience.
Looking ahead, Soul Kitchen plans to expand into the instant meal pot category as part of its mission to reinvent the wider convenience food market.
Bella added: “Soup is where we started, but our ambition has always been much bigger. We’re reimagining instant food through wholefood ingredients, bold flavours and modern nutrition. We want to become the go-to brand for healthy convenience.”
Already recognised with a prestigious three-star Nourish Award, named a Rising Star by Speciality Fine Food magazine and awarded Amazon’s Choice Badge, Soul Kitchen is on track to sell one million products this year as it continues its rapid expansion across retail, travel and direct-to-consumer channels.
All Dragons’ Den investments made by Deborah Meaden
All Dragons’ Den investments made by Peter Jones CBE