Jackfruit firm to take slice of plant-based market with £1.25m seed funding

A producer of plant-based meat alternatives has secured new investment to support its growth in a growing market.

Jack & Bry has raised £1.25m in seed funding in a round led by SFC Capital, with participation from KM Capital, Rubix Ventures and a number of private investors.

Founded in 2019, Jack & Bry specialises in a range of jackfruit meat alternatives, including burgers, mince, sausages and pepperoni pizza topping.

The firm currently supplies 138 Zizzi sites, 450 Papa John’s outlets in the UK and Netherlands and 300 Sainsbury’s stores, and is also set to launch products in The Vegan Kind and Central Foods.

Jack & Bry also recently secured a deal with Neat Burger, the plant-based restaurant chain backed by Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton, to supply its Fillet-no-Fish burger.

The firm, which saw a 400 per cent growth in new customer launches last month in line with Veganuary, plans to use the investment to continue its expansion of its retail partners as well as its product range.

Bryony Tinn-Disbury, founder of Jack & Bry, commented: “We know consumers are seeking out meat alternatives in ever greater numbers, but they are also seeking higher quality in the plant-based foods they buy.

“Key to that is authentic recreation of taste and texture, and we’re proud to have developed a full retail range of branded jackfruit products to mimic all the meats to satisfy that demand.

“Our ambition is to launch with another major supermarket in 2021 to help meet the booming demand. We predict the Veganuary effect will last throughout the whole year, not just January, and backed by our new investors and non-executive directors we are excited for the next stage of the journey at Jack & Bry.”

Rohallah Ghasemi, lead investment manager at SFC Capital, added: “We are delighted to be supporting Jack & Bry with this seed funding.

“The team has already achieved incredible growth, and we are looking forward to working with them as they expand into more direct-to-consumer channels.

“Shoppers are looking to add more and more innovative non-meat alternatives to their usual staples, and this trend is only going to continue over the coming years. Jack & Bry is in a great position to lead this new market.”