Itsu’s runaway growth across multiple UK grocery fixtures has contributed to soaring profits in its fmcg division.
Turnover at Itsu Grocery raced 33% higher (or by £19m) to reach £75.8m in the 52 weeks to 1 January 2026, outpacing the prior year’s 20% jump in the top line.
Pre-tax profits for the chilled, ambient and frozen supplier of Asian-inspired foods accordingly jumped from £2.5m to £12.5m. The division’s performance helped push Itsu to a group-level profit after two years in the red.
The wider group posted revenues of £201m in 2025, up 14.1% year on year thanks largely to the grocery division’s expansion. Itsu ended the financial year with a pre-tax profit of £3.9m, an improvement on a loss of £6.9m.
Itsu Grocery is now on course to build revenues equal to that of its sister nationwide restaurant chain by 2027, according to co-managing director of the division, Chris Ford.
He said the record-breaking run of 2025 at the division had carried through to 2026, with sales up 30% year on year in the first six months.
“It’s all about the top line – but we won’t sacrifice profit for it,” Ford added.
New product development had been the single main driver of growth in recent years, according to Ford, with further releases due in ambient and frozen in this month.
“We’re an innovation-led company, and always have been. I think we always will be,” he said.
The brand’s soup dumpling range – which achieved online virality in 2024 – kept up momentum thanks in part to marketing efforts, and a late 2024 launch of its Dragon Roll sushi gave the product a full year in 2025 to help boost sales.
Itsu has also invested in upskilling and filling out its product development team, adding some “heavy hitters”. It now has three full-time kitchen development staff working on new recipes and flavours for the grocery division alone.
“The only reason we can have such strong innovation is that we have a core we can bank on as well,” Ford added.
Itsu Grocery saw double-digit growth in sales of its gyoza, one of its original staples launched in 2017.
“To still be seeing that growth is amazing, and that comes from increasing penetration,” Ford said.
The division has likewise increased distribution in the UK over the past year – and won 76% growth in grocery sales outside the UK to reach £7m in exports, though those sales are consolidated under the group accounts rather than through Itsu Grocery. In the Netherlands alone, the business doubled in size.
The Itsu grocery division operates an asset-light model, relying on third-party manufacturers and its own expertise in frozen, ambient and chilled supply chain management.
“In essence we are recipe developers and a logistics company,” said Itsu Grocery finance director William McMillan.
“Outside of the [very large] monsters of the fmcg world, there’s not many people that could rival the number of fixtures we sit in within supermarkets – we’re in over 10 different locations within a store.”
Ford added: “That’s unique for a smaller business like ourselves to be there, and it gives you more touch points with your customers. People see you multiple times on every shopping journey, and it aids awareness. It’s our recipe for success.”
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