Northern Pasta Co has launched a fundraising round to help the startup with its mission to reimagine supermarket pasta aisles.
The brand is aiming to raise £1m to accelerate its next stage of growth by scaling production, growing the team and investing in marketing and brand activation.
Founded in 2022 by husband-and-wife team Imogen Royall and Matt Kenyon, Northern Pasta Co produces small-batch spelt pasta from regeneratively grown British grains.
Northern Pasta makes its range of pasta at a solar-powered factory in Cumbria using traditional bronze dies and a slow 20-hour drying process.
The brand has built a cult following among chefs, foodies and sustainability advocates thanks to its reputation for taste, traceability and sustainability.
“Pasta is one of the UK’s most-loved foods, but it’s overdue a rethink,” said Royall. “We’re building a new kind of pasta brand, one rooted in flavour, craft and sustainability, made here in Britain from the ground up.”
Since launching at farmers’ markets, Northern Pasta has achieved triple-digit year-on-year growth and is on track to generate turnover of £600k this year, with projections to surpass £2m in 2025 as demand continues to build across retail, foodservice and DTC.
It currently has listings with Ocado and in more than 250 independent retailers in the UK.
Northern Pasta was also named the Paper Pack of the Year champion at The Grocer’s New Product & Packaging Awards last week for its new packaging made using paper and zero plastic.
The business said its goal was “to set a new standard for how staple foods are grown and made in Britain, proving that delicious and sustainable foods can, and should, go hand in hand”.
“We’ve built this from grit, obsession and two pairs of hands,” added Kenyon. “Now we’re ready to take what we’ve proven and scale it fast without ever compromising on quality or integrity.”
Northern Pasta is backed by a number of food industry heavyweights, including Warburtons chairman Jonathan Warburton, former Graze COO Tom Carroll, who was also CEO at British Corner Shop and is a non-executive director at Good Guys Bakehouse, and ManiLife founder Stu MacDonald.
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