21. Bold Bean Co Bold Bean Co wants to share its bean obsession with the world, converting us all into legume lovers with the best quality heirloom ingredients. 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. Marketing Award Winner To recognise the startups that demonstrate the most creative and effective method for building early-stage brand awareness. Go to award Founders: Amelia Christie-Miller and Ed WhelptonYear founded: 2021Website: boldbeanco.com Bold Bean Co first landed on the Startups 100 Index back in 2023, bouncing in at #86. We welcomed them back in 2024 at number #38, and now we’re absolutely thrilled to see the legume lovers make a triumphant return, coming in hot at #21.They haven’t just had the Startups seal of approval though. After first appearing on the index in 2023, Bold Bean Co emerged victorious from the Dragon’s Den in 2024. Founders Amelia Christie-Miller and Ed Whelpton landed their elevator pitch and struck a deal with Deborah Meaden for a £50k investment, in return for a 7.5% equity stake.Not bad for a company born out of a (bad) hangover. Whilst living in Madrid, after a big night out, founder Christie-Miller found herself with nothing to hand but something she’d traditionally detested: a jar of beans.But in desperate times, needs must and Christie-Miller had an epiphany. In her own words, “that single spoonful completely changed my bean perception forever.”The former pulse-skeptic went on to work with top chefs, and learned how to use beans creatively. Beans weren’t just a tasty treat though, Christie-Miller realised that in regards to food sustainability beans “were literally the solution to everything I cared about.” They’re not just delicious, they’re the lowest carbon meat replacement currently available.Bold Bean Co wants to share its passion with the world, and set out to rebrand beans and pulses from a dusty cupboard stuffer to something cool, aspirational, stomach and planet-friendly. The bean market in the UK has been dominated by huge corporate brands, reducing beans to a flavourless side-dish.Our judges love how the company is giving beans their time in the spotlight, with its fun, brilliant branding, packaging its products in stylish glass jars and colourful eye-popping labels. You can also find a host of inspiring bean recipes on their website, or “beanspo” as they call it; just one reason why it won our 2026 Marketing Award.Today, you can find Bold Bean Co jars in big name stores like Waitrose, Whole Foods, Sainsbury’s, and Tesco. The company has also just released its second cookbook, with Kyle Books. It doesn’t want to restrict the bean gospel to the UK though, and in the next five years, Bold Bean Co is planning to boldly go into Europe and the US markets. Bean there, done it all!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.