20. Adamo Foods A plant-based substitute for steak that’s juicy, tasty, and good for the planet is no longer hard to find. Written by Helena Young Sponsored by Sage Published on January 12, 2026 About the Startups 100 Now in its 18th year, the Startups 100 is the definitive list of the most promising new UK businesses. There's no fee for entry or for inclusion in our index. The Startups team of new business experts judge all our top 100 entrants in collaboration with specialist industry consultants. See our guide to this year’s hottest new businesses and most exceptional founders in the complete 2026 Startups 100 index. Sustainability Award Nominee In recognition of a sustainability leader that prioritises the health of the planet as part of its company mission. Go to award Founder: Pierre DupuisYear founded: 2021Website: adamofoods.comHere’s a riddle for you: how is fungi like a steak? If you ask some old-fashioned carnivores, they’ll tell you there’s zero similarity. But Adamo Food’s ultra-realistic steak substitutes might just change your mind, and fool your tastebuds.For too long, we’ve been forced to make a choice between an environmentally conscious lifestyle, and the flavour of traditional meat products. Adamo Foods wants to eliminate the compromise, by providing delicious, plant-based whole cut alternatives.A vegetarian since the age of 12, founder Pierre Dupuis has always had animal welfare and environmental concerns close to his heart. With a strong background in sustainability startups, Dupuis went on to have significant exposure to the food industry.It was thanks to his professional journey that Dupuis became aware of an ugly truth behind the glossy exterior of many plant-based products. They just weren’t as healthy as they were claiming to be. They were ultra-processed, and packed with nasty artificial ingredients.That’s where Adamo Foods came from. Dupuis wanted to create a fully natural whole-cut meat alternative that used less than five ingredients. It’s a steak-substitute that’s cholesterol free, cruelty-free, hormone-free, but it certainly isn’t flavour-free.Based in the East Midlands, Adamo Food’s secret to its mouth-watering, ultra-realistic steak substitute is its proprietary fermentation process. Adamo Foods is able to grow fungi on a massive scale, in large fermentation tanks, ending up with massive, healthy batches of mycelium (it’s tastier than it sounds).Adamo Foods uses mycelium specifically because of its similarity to meat, thanks to its unique structure. It’s not just about providing a tasty meat-free alternative though, Adamo Foods wants to fix a broken food system; 70 billion animals are raised, fed and slaughtered each year. It’s not just upsetting, it’s unsustainable.Adamo’s fungi-based whole cuts only need small amounts of nutrients and sugars, a far more sustainable solution, and it’s because of Adamo Foods’ planet-focused company values that our judges nominated Adamo Foods for the Startups 100 2026 Sustainability Award.In 2024, Adamo Foods closed a £2m seed funding round, and secured an Innovate UK grant. Turning humble mushrooms into mouth-watering steaks, Adamo Foods is proving that fungi can be fierce, flavorful, and fantastically sustainable.View the full Startups 100 Index for 20261. Omnea2. HIVED3. MAGIC AI4. OXCCU5. Lightyear6. Neuranics 7. Hormona8. Burbank9. Better Dairy 10. Lenkie Technologies11. Userled12. Hoxton Farms13. Rensair14. PulpaTronics15. TradeKart16. 32Co17. Carmoola18. cheqd19. Sightline Analytics20. Adamo Foods21. Bold Bean Co22. Beams Renovation 23. Pan Galactic24. Capi Money25. Spotted Zebra26. ANTHROTEK 27. Unravel28. Perci Health29. Untap Health30. Hair Syrup31. Connect Earth 32. spacebands 33. Unfabled34. Lightning Reach35. STOCKED36. Embeddable37. XR Therapeutics38. Literal Labs39. Scooch40. Openr41. Fibe Limited42. Inicio AI43. Peachies44. Better Nature 45. Ctrl Alt46. Resting Reef47. Nila48. ROXFIT49. Finmile50. NavLive51. Volunteero52. Inntelo AI53. Zonova54. A&B Smart Materials55. Ethicronics56. Treeapp57. kennek58. Soil Benchmark59. Vox Aeris60. Asan Cup61. Nuuri62. Mindstone63. MYNDUP64. Enbiosis Biotechnology65. JUX Food66. Danu Robotics67. Wylde Market68. Air Aware Labs69. Mimicrete Ltd70. ALYVE71. Happl72. Living Things73. Grub Club Pets74. Mealia75. PetProov76. Lylo Products77. Chest78. ZIM Connections79. Uptime Labs80. Teal81. Zero Fintech82. Micro Thermal Energy 83. Kanjo 84. Merlin Cloud85. My Skin Feels86. Eleria87. Cashblack88. RevvedUp89. Cosysense90. SuperFi91. Loom92. Legacy Compass93. Meshed94. SWURF95. Main Squeeze96. Sampl Technologies97. Over the Moo98. Pioneering People99. Bikebook100. Recondition Share this post facebook twitter linkedin Tags 2026 Written by: Helena Young Deputy Editor Helena is Deputy Editor at Startups. She oversees all news and supporting content on Startups, and is also the author of the weekly Startups email newsletter, delivering must-know SME updates straight to their inbox. From interviewing Wetherspoon's boss Tim Martin to spotting data-led working from home trends, her insight has been featured by major trade publications including the ICAEW, and news outlets like the BBC, ITV News, Daily Express, and HuffPost UK. With a background in PR and marketing, Helena is particularly passionate about giving early-stage startups a platform to boost their brands. That's one reason she manages the Startups 100 Index, our annual ranking of new UK businesses. Sponsored by: Sage Startups 100 Index Sponsor 2026 Sage exists to knock down barriers so everyone can thrive, starting with the millions of Small and Mid-Sized Businesses served by us, our partners and accountants. Customers trust our finance, HR and payroll software to make work and money flow. By digitising business processes and relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, banks and governments, our digital network connects SMBs, removing friction and delivering insights. Knocking down barriers also means we use our time, technology and experience to tackle digital inequality, economic inequality and the climate crisis.