20. Adamo Foods

A plant-based substitute for steak that’s juicy, tasty, and good for the planet is no longer hard to find.

Sustainability Award Nominee

In recognition of a sustainability leader that prioritises the health of the planet as part of its company mission.

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Founder: Pierre Dupuis
Year founded: 2021
Website: adamofoods.com

Here’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 2026

1. Omnea
2. HIVED
3. MAGIC AI
4. OXCCU
5. Lightyear
6. Neuranics
7. Hormona
8. Burbank
9. Better Dairy
10. Lenkie Technologies
11. Userled
12. Hoxton Farms
13. Rensair
14. PulpaTronics
15. TradeKart
16. 32Co
17. Carmoola
18. cheqd
19. Currence
20. Adamo Foods
21. Bold Bean Co
22. Beams Renovation
23. Pan Galactic
24. Capi Money
25. Spotted Zebra
26. ANTHROTEK
27. Unravel
28. Perci Health
29. Untap Health
30. Hair Syrup
31. Connect Earth
32. spacebands
33. Unfabled
34. Lightning Reach
35. STOCKED
36. Embeddable
37. XR Therapeutics
38. Literal Labs
39. Scooch
40. Openr
41. Fibe Limited
42. Inicio AI
43. Peachies
44. Better Nature
45. Ctrl Alt
46. Resting Reef
47. Nila
48. ROXFIT
49. Finmile
50. NavLive
51. Volunteero
52. Inntelo AI
53. Zonova
54. A&B Smart Materials
55. Ethicronics
56. Treeapp
57. kennek
58. Soil Benchmark
59. Vox Aeris
60. Asan Cup
61. Nuuri
62. Mindstone
63. MYNDUP
64. Enbiosis Biotechnology
65. JUX Food
66. Danu Robotics
67. Wylde Market
68. Air Aware Labs
69. Mimicrete Ltd
70. ALYVE
71. Happl
72. Living Things
73. Grub Club Pets
74. Mealia
75. PetProov
76. Lylo Products
77. Chest
78. ZIM Connections
79. Uptime Labs
80. Teal
81. Zero Fintech
82. Micro Thermal Energy
83. Kanjo
84. Merlin Cloud
85. My Skin Feels
86. Eleria
87. Cashblack
88. RevvedUp
89. Cosysense
90. SuperFi
91. Loom
92. Legacy Compass
93. Meshed
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95. Main Squeeze
96. Sampl Technologies
97. Over the Moo
98. Pioneering People
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100. Recondition

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.

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From startup roots to championing founders. For nearly 45 years, Sage has supported the businesses powering the UK economy. As proud partner of the Startups 100 Index, we celebrate the UK’s most ambitious entrepreneurs. Our mission is simple: make running a business effortless. With practical AI and Sage Copilot, we give founders time back, clarity and confidence – automating admin and letting finance run itself. Sage breaks down barriers so businesses can thrive. Our trusted finance, HR and payroll solutions make work and money flow, connecting millions of SMBs through a digital network that removes friction and delivers insight. Beyond business, we tackle digital inequality, economic inequality, and the climate crisis.

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