UK foodtech companies raised £54.0m across 33 deals in 2025 — the sector’s quietest year since 2018, and a sustained cool-down from the 2022 peak of £187m. In total, foodtech companies in the UK have raised £918m across all equity fundraisings tracked by Beauhurst, with 73% of that arriving since the start of 2020. The cooling investment environment hasn’t stopped underlying activity: 2026 is already off the mark with £17.4m raised through the first quarter.
We’ve ranked the top 50 foodtech companies by total equity raised (all data sourced from the Beauhurst platform).
What is foodtech?
Foodtech — short for food technology — covers the application of science, software, and biotechnology to how food is produced, processed, distributed, and consumed. It spans alternative proteins (cell-cultured meat, fermentation-based dairy and chocolate, plant-based foods), controlled-environment and vertical farming, food-supply software for restaurants and producers, food-safety and waste-reduction tools, and consumer-facing services such as meal kits and personalised nutrition.
Beauhurst tracks 153 active foodtech companies in the UK, up from 34 in the final quarter of 2015 — a 350% increase over the decade. Together, these companies have raised £918m, with £674m of that arriving since 2020 (73% of the sector’s all-time total). The eight companies reporting full financials generated £68.3m in turnover, and the sector supports an estimated 1,398 employees across the UK.
Key findings
- Gousto dominates the ranking with £321m raised. The London-based meal kit business is the only established foodtech company in the UK with more than 1,000 employees, and accounts for 35% of all UK foodtech equity raised to date. With Gousto stripped out, the rest of the sector has raised £597m collectively.
- Rekki (£52.3m, London) takes second place with restaurant-supplier communication software, followed by OLIO (£46.4m, London) in food-sharing and waste reduction, Uncommon (£38.4m, East of England) in cell-based meat alternatives, and NOTPLA (£35.5m, London) in seaweed-based packaging. The top five account for 54% of all equity raised in UK foodtech — by far the most concentrated leadership tier of any sector we’ve analysed.
- London hosts 26 of the top 50, followed by the South East (6), East of England (5), West Midlands (3), and South West (3). The top 50 spans 11 UK regions in total — a broad geographic spread that includes both Scottish regions, Wales, and Yorkshire.
- Venture-stage businesses lead the top 50 (27), followed by growth-stage (13) and seed-stage (seven), with just two established companies and one exited business. The 30 venture and seed-stage names make foodtech one of the youngest top 50s in our series — a sector still firmly in its build-out phase, with 80% of the broader sector still pre-growth.
- The top 50 collectively raised £892m — 97% of the sector’s all-time total, the highest concentration in any of our analyses.
