Modern Baker has closed a £2.5m investment round as the science-led challenger brand kicks on with its mission to reframe the narrative around ultra-processed food.
The funding from the Series A round – which was led by London-based investment syndicate Adjuvo – will support the next stage of the company’s six-year mission as it rolls out new products in biscuits, sweet bakery, breakfast cereals, ready meals and beverages.
Leo Campbell and Melissa Sharp founded the company in 2015 to create healthier versions of everyday staples.
The business has used numerous UK government grants and worked with university labs to develop its clean-label, ingredient-based tech platform and IP, which is fully compatible with existing manufacturing processes and can be licensed to food manufacturers.
It launched Superloaf as its first product and signed a three-year exclusive licensing agreement with Hovis for the gut health bread brand in 2023.
Superloaf is now stocked in M&S, Sainsbury’s and Ocado and promoted by the business as “the world’s first healthy UPF”.
“This is about fixing UPFs, not fighting them,” said Sharp, whose experience in a chemo ward sparked a rethink of food’s role in illness and led to the creation of the business.
“The real enemy isn’t processing or additives – it’s nutrient poverty. We’re proving UPFs can be actively healthy, if done right.”
Modern Baker has set itself a six-year mission to challenge the narrative around ultra-processed food – “reframing it as a health-positive innovation, delivered through nutrient density, without sacrificing taste or convenience and fully compatible with existing manufacturing processes”.
Its capital-light, SaaS-style (software as a service) model allowed manufacturers to upgrade everyday brands and break them out of the unhealthy food narrative, the company said.
Healthy ultra-processed food is the future of nutrition
“Adjuvo’s backing brings not only capital, but also a strategic network with deep influence across retail, food and consumer tech sectors,” Campbell added.
“The idea of a ‘healthy UPF’ may sound audacious – but it’s the only credible solution to the trillion-pound cost of poor diet. And we have living proof in Superloaf and its lab-validated data. This is transformative – for public health, and for UK plc as a new global hub of health innovation.
“With global food players and public health bodies now talking to us, the Series A will accelerate our commercial rollout and deepen the scientific case.
“Our model is to work with the food industry, not against it. While others attack UPFs from the outside, we’re building the fix from within – staying lean and agile, while our partners scale globally.”
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