Organic babyfood brand Babease has ceased trading following a difficult year plagued by a number of challenges, The Grocer has learned. It is not the first time the business has been forced to call in insolvency practitioners, with Babease previously saved in a pre-pack administration deal in 2019.
Babease appointed liquidators from insolvency specialist Insolve Plus on 28 May 2025 after the directors voted to wind up the company voluntarily.
Monica Monajem, founder and managing partner of Babease owner Amitis Group, said the babyfood sector in the UK had been “hit very hard” in the aftermath of Brexit and Covid.
Amitis, a boutique wealth management and investment advisory firm, has suffered heavy losses throughout its time backing the company after taking a majority stake in 2019.
Monajem added that in the past 12 months, “after years of hard work and huge capital investment”, the business struggled to deal with several challenges, including its packaging supplier going into bankruptcy, difficulty in sourcing ingredients, losing retailers and the cost of living crisis impacting demand.
“All have led us into a position in which there is no commercial future and, therefore, it is with great regret and sadness that we had to go into liquidation,” she said.
Unaudited accounts for 2023 filed at Companies House in December last year showed losses at Babease widened by almost £1m, with the business racking up a total deficit of just more than £5m since the pre-pack rescue in November 2019.
Babease owes its creditors almost £5m, with Amitis and the subsidiary the firm used for the pre-pack, Foodease Holding, accounting for most of that total, according to a document filed yesterday at Companies House. Ocado, which remained as the sole supermarket listing for the brand, is also owed £36k.
Sector woes
Branded babyfood in general continues to struggle this year as shoppers stick increasingly with own label products to save money. The latest babycare report from The Grocer, published last month, revealed the likes of Ella’s Kitchen, Heinz and Hipp Organic all registered declining sales.
Brands are also under increased pressure following an BBC Panorama documentary aired in April outlining health worries associated with long-life babyfood pouches.
Babease history
Chef Tom Redwood founded Babease in 2016, rapidly growing the veg-led babyfood brand and winning nationwide listings with Tesco, Waitrose, Boots and Superdrug. The business employed around 60 staff at its height, including at a factory in Wales that manufactured the branded products as well as an own-label range for Lidl.
However, losses quickly racked up as a result of the high cost base and big marketing campaign.
Amitis came on board as a backer in August 2019, taking a majority stake for a £5m investment.
Babease entered administration four months later, with Amitis continuing to back the brand thanks to the pre-pack deal struck for £910k.
At the time, The Grocer revealed the business had burned through almost £11m of shareholder cash in a little more than three years, with losses totalling £9m on turnover of £5m.
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