Tesco anchors £20m Bramble Fund to drive UK food innovation

Tesco has become the anchor investor in a new £20 million fund to accelerate innovation across the UK food system.

Bramble Fund I has been established by Henry Dimbleby, Co-Founder of Leon and author of the government-commissioned National Food Strategy, alongside business partner Omar Habbal and Mark Hudson, chair of the fund’s investment committee.

The specialist fund will invest between £1 million and £5 million of growth capital in businesses developing practical innovations designed to make food healthier, more sustainable and more affordable. 

Backing food innovation

Tesco’s investment forms part of the fund’s first close, which has also attracted support from institutions and business leaders including Peter Harrison, former Chief Executive of Schroders, and Adam Wells, Co-Founder of ingredients business Belazu.

As part of the Tesco-Bramble Innovation Partnership, the organisations will establish a joint innovation board and explore opportunities to test promising technologies within Tesco’s supply chain. They will also work to help successful businesses expand.

The partnership combines Bramble’s expertise in food innovation and investment with Tesco’s experience of supporting emerging UK food businesses and its extensive retail and operational infrastructure.

Tesco Chief Executive Ken Murphy said the retailer had a long history of supporting innovation.

“Tesco has a long track record as a home for great ideas and new innovation - from launching thousands of new and improved own brand products in the last year alone, to supporting exciting new food brands through our Accelerator programme and testing cutting-edge practical technologies on our low-carbon concept farm.

“As the UK’s leading retailer, we see first-hand the opportunities for our food system, and the challenges that we need to solve to ensure everyone has access to affordable, healthy and sustainable food.

“By partnering with Henry and the Bramble team, we can help the most promising food innovations move from idea to impact, delivering real benefits for customers, suppliers and the wider food system.”

First investment

Bramble’s first investment is KluraLabs, a British technology company that develops improved food packaging to keep food fresh for longer.

The technology aims to extend shelf life and use-by dates, remove the need for artificial additives and reduce food waste and costs.

The fund’s wider investment portfolio includes technologies intended to reduce farms’ reliance on chemical fertilisers and medical devices designed to help people monitor their digestive health.

Dimbleby said the partnership would help entrepreneurs tackle challenges facing the food system.

“Britain’s food system needs to change. People are crying out for healthy, sustainable meals that taste good and don’t end up costing them more.

“Bramble and Tesco will find Britain’s best entrepreneurs solving these problems, back them and give them what they need to grow. Tesco can help scale a business from a good idea to the weekly shop better than anyone else in Britain.

“This partnership will accelerate the changes to our food system that I have spent my career working to bring about.”

With its first investment already in place, Bramble and Tesco will now look to identify and scale further innovations that could help reshape the UK food system.