Plant-based Jack & Bry raise £1.25m in seed funding

The round was led by SFC Capital, with other backers including KM Capital, Rubix Ventures and a number of high net worth private investors.

Jack & Bry aims to use the money to help attract more customers. The investment in artificial intelligence would help develop more jackfruit products that closely mimic the texture of meat using a proprietary manufacturing process, it said.

Meeting meat alternative demand​

“We know consumers are seeking out meat alternatives in ever greater numbers, but they are also seeking higher quality in the plant-based foods they buy,” said ​founder Bryony Tinn-Disbury.​

“Key to that is authentic recreation of taste and texture, and we’re proud to have developed a full retail range of branded jackfruit products to mimic all the meats to satisfy that demand.”​

“Our ambition is to launch with another major supermarket in 2021 to help meet the booming demand. We predict the Veganuary effect will last throughout the whole year, not just January, and backed by our new investors and non-executive directors we are excited for the next stage of the journey at Jack & Bry.”​

Founded in 2019, Jack & Bry produces a range of jackfruit meat alternatives, including burgers, mince, sausages, and pepperoni pizza ingredient. It supplies 138 Zizzi sites, 450 Papa John’s outlets in the UK and Netherlands, and 300 Sainsbury’s stores, with products also set to launch in The Vegan Kind and Central Foods.

Expanding into direct-to-consumer​

Commenting on SFC Capital’s investment, Rohallah Ghasemi, lead investment manager, said:​ “We are delighted to be supporting Jack & Bry with this seed funding. The team has already achieved incredible growth, and we are looking forward to working with them as they expand into more direct-to-consumer channels.​

“Shoppers are looking to add more and more innovative non-meat alternatives to their usual staples, and this trend is only going to continue over the coming years. Jack & Bry is in a great position to lead this new market.” ​

Meanwhile, plant-based milk producer Sproud has announced that it has raised £4.8M from growth capital investor VGC Partners​​ to accelerate distribution of its vegan products in core markets, including the UK.