Frozen snack startup Froot Pops has scored a seven-figure investment and secured backing from former Sainsbury’s boss Justin King and serial investor Giles Brook as it prepares to scale.
Founded in 2024 by Ana Martins, the brand is already stocked nationwide in Morrisons and available on Ocado, alongside Selfridges, GoPuff, Zapp and 200-plus Independents.
Froot Pops makes a four-strong range of frozen fresh fruit – strawberries, cherries and two lines of raspberries – dipped in chocolate at its own London factory, without using any artificial flavours or preservatives.
The business surpassed £1m in annual revenues by the time it brought the product to market and is now projecting a run rate of more than £3m for 2026.
The £1.1m in funding – which is Froot Pops’ first external raise – will be used to support the next phase of growth across marketing, distribution and innovation.
VC firms Active Partners and Graph Ventures invested alongside King and Brook, as well as angel investor Lior Shiff.
“Frozen snacking is becoming one of the most exciting spaces in UK food and Froot Pops is well positioned to help define that category, while standing out for our focus on strong product quality and premium ingredients, including ethically sourced cocoa across the full range,” Martins said.
“We also have a big innovation pipeline for 2026 with exclusive flavours and launches as we continue to expand, which I’m super excited about.
“We’ve built Froot Pops with a huge amount of care and conviction, and this investment is a major milestone for us.
“The round gives us the opportunity to scale a brand that is already proving itself with consumers and retailers, while continuing to invest in what matters most to us: exceptional product quality, local manufacturing and a strong pipeline of innovation.”
Froot Pops originally launched within Martins’ first business, which she ran with her husband Mark Jones, before being spun out into its own company. Pantree, which continues to be run by Jones, is a bespoke mini convenience store for the lobbies of buildings.
“I was delighted to take the opportunity to be back in the world of ice cream,” said King, who helped launch Häagen-Dazs into the UK.
“Ana and the Froot Pops team have created a product for our times. I love it. Ana’s passion and professionalism are the ingredients necessary to secure its success.”
Brook, who has built a large portfolio of food & drink investments, added: “I invested in Froot Pops for its exceptional early traction, already outperforming more established competitors, and my strong conviction in Ana as a founder.
“The brand is well positioned to capitalise on the rapid growth of frozen fruit snacking, a category gaining significant momentum in global markets such as the US as consumers seek more exciting permissible indulgences.”
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