Top 6 F&B Startups that are heating up in 2025

1. Hoxton Farms

Founders:

• Ed Steele
• Max Jamilly

Hoxton Farms are making animal fat…just without the animals. How? With machine learning, used for optimising cells, to create animal fat with no livestock needed (or harmed). If that all sounds a bit technical, the bottom line is that founders Steele and Jamiliy are creating first-class lab-grown fat that manufacturers can use as a replacement for the real thing.

This is all being cooked up from their 14,000 square foot pilot facility in East London, a result of an incredible $25M investment. Crucially, the fake fat looks and cooks just like the real deal, and tastes like it too (some might argue it even tastes better!). With meat-alternatives set to be a hot trend in 2025, we feel that Hoxton Farms is bringing the goods due to their commitment to helping produce products in the UK that are tasty, affordable and crucially, cruelty-free.

2. Bio&Me

Founders:

• Dr Megan Rossi
• Jon Walsh

Gut health was a key focus for consumers in 2024, and that trend looks like it’s going to continue into 2025. Dr Megan Rossi (the Gut Health Doctor herself!) teamed up with co-founder Jon Walsh to make it easier, and tastier, to make sure your gut microbiome is happy and healthy. They’re achieving this with their tantalising range of gut-friendly granolas, porridges, oat bars, kafir yogurts and drinks.

Having already achieved £3M in funding, their products can already be found in Morrisons, Asda, and Holland & Barrett. You can even get Bio&Me in the Boots Meal Deal, if you fancy picking one up for lunch and trying it for yourself. As the UK’s first dedicated, evidence-backed gut health food company, we want to support Bio&Me’s mission to make sure your gut bacteria is properly looked after, it’s a big job after all, there’s roughly about a trillion of them.

3. SURREAL

Founders:

• Jac Chetland
• Kit Gammell

For most of us, a big bowl of mouth-watering cereal is the keystone of a happy childhood, but as responsible adults we are resigned to dull, but healthy, breakfast options. Well SURREAL is thinking outside the trad cereal box. Founders Chetland and Gammel are on a mission to fill up your cereal bowl with nutritious, nostalgic and delicious cereal that will make you think you’re back in front of your favourite cartoons, just without the sugar crash and guilt.

The range of cereals are reminiscent of all your childhood favourites, but with zero sugar and low carbs, so it was no surprise to us that the fun and healthy cereal brand is already receiving some bumper funding, and have secured a partnership with the UK’s number one fitness brand (and former Startups100 alumnus) Gymshark. We think that a cereal that’s this delicious while still managing to get in 12g of plant protein per bowl is worth your attention.

4. STOCKED

Founders:

• Sam Moss
• Charlie Gilpin

Sam Moss was tired of the mess and waste he experienced when trying to batch cook his meals, and so he arrived at an ingenious solution: using ice trays to freeze his meals into convenient blocks. Moss, and his co-founder Charlie Gilpin, wanted to bring this brilliant idea to the world and STOCKED was born. It’s a simple and effective idea: you choose and your portions and the frozen blocks are delivered straight to your door, ready for you to prepare exactly how you like.

The ingenious, block-based idea led to the pair becoming Dragons Den Winners in 2024 and, more importantly, alumni of the 2025 Startups100 Index! Considering a stomach-turning 70% of food waste in the UK coming from our own homes, we love to see this startup’s core values focused on fighting wastefulness, and delivering delicious healthy dishes as part of the bargain. We predict that this year you’ll see STOCKED become quickly associated with high-quality frozen food.

5. IMPOSSIBREW®

Founder:

• Mark Wong

There’s been a decreasing trend in alcohol consumption in the UK – non-drinkers increased from 16% to 19% between 2011 and 2022 – but alcohol-free substitutes have typically been seen as a pale imitation of their boozy counterparts. IMPOSSIBREW® is here to change that misconception using its patented Real Brew™ process, which produces premium alcohol-free beer. It’s not just cutting out the alcohol either, IMPOSSIBREW® products are ultra-low calorie, low sugar and even vegan-friendly.

IMPOSSIBREW® stands out in the alcohol-free space thanks to its Social Blend™, a proprietary alcohol alternative formula that uses nootropics and patent-pending technology. Hardly a surprise that their Triple-Hopped IPA sold out in under 48 hours of its launch, and their Larger and Pale were both voted as the UK’s best non-alcoholic beers by the World Beer Awards in 2023. So whether you’re tee-total or just fancy a weekday tipple without fear of a hangover, IMPOSSIBREW wants to provide an accessible and thirst-quenching alcohol alternative. We’ll drink to that.

6. Freja

Founders:

• Jess Leather
• Ed Armitage

There might be a number of options for bone broth out there, but Freja’s claim to fame is the best nutritional profile of any bone broth brand in the UK. Freja provides a nourishing and sustainable bone broth that aims to support skin, health and wellness. Co-founders, and husband-and-wife team, Jess Leather and Ed Armitage wanted to create an antidote to ultra-processed junk foods. Their solution was a delicious bone broth that is made up of completely natural ingredients and meets high animal welfare standards.

Leather and Armitage want to provide long life and tasty options for health-conscious consumers seeking natural food options. Having raised a massive £2M in funding from some big name investors, Harry Kane and Alistair Brownlee, Freja also currently boasts over 2,000 5-star reviews on their website. Clearly, this bone broth company is boiling hot. The company currently has its sights set on becoming the leading bone broth brand in Europe.