Black-eyed peas snacking brand Bepps is the latest healthier foods business to secure backing from the Good Food Fund.
As well as £400,000 in funding, Bepps will also receive support and advice from Missions Venture, the food and drink start-up accelerator behind the Good Food Fund.
The supplier – founded in 2018 by Eve Yankah – makes a range of bagged snacks using black-eyed peas and is stocked by the likes of Asda, Tesco, Ocado, Amazon and Selfridges.
Mumsnet co-founder Carrie Longton also took part in the new funding round. She joins early angel investor Giles Brook – who injected a six-figure sum into the business back in 2018 – as a shareholder.
Mission Ventures, alongside partners Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity, launched the Good Food Fund in 2020 to support brands helping to reduce childhood obesity.
Yankah said: “Bepps was started out of the desire to find healthier, great-tasting snacks that my daughter, and our family as a whole, could enjoy together without having to compromise on taste and flavour, so receiving funding from the Good Food Fund, who are on a mission to tackle childhood obesity, is a great alignment of purpose.
“With their support, I’m excited to accelerate the growth of the Bepps brand, shine more light on the black-eyed pea ingredient story and continue to focus on providing healthier, low-calorie, delicious and affordable snacks to the mainstream.”
Emma Steele, investment director at Ascension Ventures, which backs the £1.8m fund, added: “Bepps is building its brand as a fantastic and great-tasting healthy snack but also at an affordable price, using very simple and under-utilised ingredients. As with every business, backing the right founder is key and we are excited to be on board this journey with Eve – she is a strong leader and has a great clarity of vision for scaling the business.”
The Good Fund Food has recently invested in meat-free tempeh brand Better Nature, with the likes of quinoa crisps maker Nombots, marshmallow brand Lexi’s Treats, sorghum snack brand Insane Grain and fruit and veg crisp brand Spare Snacks also part of the initiative.
Mission Ventures CEO Paddy Willis said: “Eve is a great example of an entrepreneur showing purpose-led innovation from a dissatisfied parent. Our work is all about finding and supporting these exciting challenger brands to scale and disrupt categories.”
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