Innovate Foods

What Innovate Foods does

Innovate Foods is a UK-based frozen finger food manufacturer headquartered in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland, founded in 1989/1990. The company produces approximately 30 million portions per year (roughly 4 million kilos) on a 120-hour weekly manufacturing schedule, supplying major UK grocery retailers including ASDA, Iceland, Morrisons, Ocado, and The Food Warehouse, as well as foodservice operators such as TGI Fridays and Papa John's. The company holds AA+ BRC Global Food Standard accreditation and employs approximately 120 staff.

The product portfolio spans cheese-based snacks (including the Now This Is Cheesy retail brand launched in 2020), battered and breaded vegetable lines, and an expanding vegan range covering No Chicken Bite, Vegan Cumberland Sausage, No Lamb Kofta, and XXX Burger. Product development is supported by an in-house NPD team and development chefs producing both own-label and bespoke ranges for major accounts. Manufacturing is centred on a single Kirkcaldy facility with extended operating hours to meet retailer and foodservice volume requirements.

Since February 2020 Innovate Foods has operated as part of the Germany-headquartered Frostkrone Food Group, a frozen food platform comprising seven companies, eight factories across four countries, and distribution spanning the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the USA. Under the Frostkrone UK entity, leadership was refreshed in 2022 with Phil Skelding as Managing Director and Chris Duke as Head of Operations. The business generates approximately £20 million in annual turnover with year-on-year growth, monetising through private-label and branded supply contracts with UK retail grocers and through volume supply to foodservice QSR operators.

Name

Innovate Foods

Legal name

Innovate Foods Ltd

Website

https://innovatefoods.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Innovate Foods is a UK-based frozen finger food manufacturer in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, producing 30 million portions annually for retailers (ASDA, Iceland, Morrisons, Ocado) and foodservice operators (TGI Fridays, Papa John's). Part of the Frostkrone Food Group since 2020.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Frozen Finger Food Manufacturing

NAICS

Frozen Specialty Food Manufacturing (311412), Frozen Food Manufacturing (31141), Food Manufacturing (311)

SIC

Canned, Frozen & Preservd Fruit, Veg & Food Specialties (2030), Sausages & Other Prepared Meat Products (2013), Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Frozen Snacks & Appetizers (CRADADAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Frozen prepared meals & entrées manufacturing (AFAKAHAA)

Keywords

• Frozen finger food manufacturing
• Bespoke food production
• Vegan meat alternatives
• Foodservice supplier
• Private label frozen foods

Headquarters

HQ city

Kirkcaldy

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Frozen Finger Food Manufacturing - Retail: Manufactures client-branded and own-brand frozen finger foods for retail customers including major UK supermarket chains. Products include coated products, vegan alternatives, and innovative snack solutions sold under customer brands.
2. Frozen Finger Food Manufacturing - Foodservice: Supplies bespoke frozen finger foods to foodservice operators, restaurants, and quick-service chains. Includes both client-branded products and proprietary branded lines like Golden Crumb, Cheese 'O's, and Now This Is Cheesy.
3. New Product Development Services: Collaborative NPD services working directly with retail partners on seasonal briefs and foodservice customers on custom menu solutions. Develops bespoke products to customer specifications.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Innovate Foods manufactures bespoke frozen finger foods, appetizers, sides, and sharers for the retail and foodservice sectors from its purpose-built factory in Fife, Scotland. It produces both client-branded and own-branded products (including Golden Crumb, Cheese 'O's, Now This Is Cheesy, New Vegan Stuff, and Really?!), with specialized capabilities in coated products, vegan/plant-based meat alternatives, and seasonal campaign lines, producing over 30 million portions annually.

Product overview

Innovate Foods is an award-winning producer of bespoke frozen finger foods for both the foodservice and retail sectors, operating for over 30 years. The company offers a portfolio of products including cheese-based items (Cheese 'O's, Now This Is Cheesy, Mini Cheddar Cheese Souflettes), coated vegetable products (Battered Cauliflower Florets), and an expanding range of vegan/plant-based alternatives (The XXX Burger, The No Chicken Bite, Vegan Cumberland Sausage, The No Lamb Kofta, QSR Mushroom Patty). Products are distributed under brands including Golden Crumb, Really?!, and New Vegan Stuff for Food Service, while retail brands include Now This Is Cheesy. The company operates from a purpose-built factory in Fife, Scotland, producing over 4 million kilos annually and supplying major UK retailers and foodservice operators.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Golden Crumb: Food Service distribution brand for coated finger foods
• Now This Is Cheesy
• Cheese 'O's
• Really?!
• New Vegan Stuff

Products and services

• Battered Cauliflower Florets Cauliflower florets wrapped in crispy tempura batter, available in Piri Piri and Salt and White Pepper flavors, designed for vegetarian and vegan consumers. Sold as a frozen finger food for retail and foodservice customers under the Golden Crumb brand.
• Mini Cheddar Cheese Souflettes Miniature extra mature cheddar souflettes developed from a cheese beignet concept, featuring consistent oven rise, attractive colour, and light fluffy texture, designed for Christmas Party Food campaigns and year-round cheese-based menu occasions.
• The No Chicken Bite Vegan chicken bite made from wet extruded textured proteins blended with carefully selected yeast flavours and precise emulsion, designed to deliver authentic chicken-like texture and taste for retail and foodservice customers.
• QSR Mushroom Patty Quick Service Restaurant mushroom patty adapted from a London chef's recipe for factory-scale manufacturing, exported from Fife to QSR restaurants in Gulf States and Asia with worldwide distribution plans.
• Vegan Cumberland Sausage First vegan meat product from Innovate Foods, based on rehydrated vegetable proteins and meat-like flavours, sold across retail, food service and schools nationwide as the company's most significant vegan line.
• The No Lamb Kofta Hybrid vegan kofta made with vegetables, pulses, mushrooms, and textured vegetable proteins, designed to cook perfectly on the BBQ and featured in the Vegan BBQ summer retail range.
• The XXX Burger Vegan patty made from vegetables, pulses, and mushrooms that performs like a real beef patty, launched nationwide on The Alternative Burger Menu as the company's first vegan QSR collaboration.
• Now This Is Cheesy (Retail Brand) Retail brand launched in 2020 extending the Cheese 'O's foodservice line into the wider consumer retail market, bringing cheese-based finger foods to home cooking occasions.
• Cheese 'O's Original cheese-flavored snack product line launched in 2017 for the foodservice channel and subsequently extended to retail under the Now This Is Cheesy brand.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30 million portions produced annually
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Frostkrone Food GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 February 2020In February 2020, Innovate Foods joined the Frostkrone Food Group as part of planned growth strategy. The Group has headquarters in Rietberg, Germany and comprises seven companies with eight factories across four countries. Innovation and product development synergies across all factory sites; enhanced international presence; collaboration on development projects; shared distribution infrastructure.
• Abergavenny Fine FoodscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoundation business of Frostkrone UK entity alongside Innovate Foods. Both companies form the foundation of the newly inaugurated Frostkrone UK division led by Managing Director Phil Skelding.
• Lynas FoodservicecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNorthern Ireland's largest foodservice distributor. Innovate Foods participates in exhibitions supported by Lynas to reach their customer base. Mark Parrish, National Account Manager, represents Innovate Foods at Lynas Foodservice events.
• Wales-Based Producer (Frostkrone Group)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMost recent accession to the Frostkrone Food Group, joining in 2021. Expands UK manufacturing footprint within the group.
• Frostkrone Group Sister Factories (Germany)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDue to extraordinary volume requirements for The No Chicken Bite product, NPD team managed recipe transition to Frostkrone Group colleagues in Germany for manufacture. Products nominated for World Food Innovation Awards at IFE London.
• Frostkrone Food Group CompaniescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGroup includes: frostkrone Tiefkühlkost GmbH (Germany), Bornholter Käsevertriebs- und Produktions GmbH (Germany), Piz'wich Europe SAS (France, acquired 2018), Varenne Gastronomie SAS (France, acquired 2018), Rite Stuff Foods Inc. (USA, acquired 2019), and Wales-based producer (2021). Eight factories across four countries enable shared development projects and distribution optimization.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• McCain Foods: Global leader in frozen prepared foods (potato products, frozen meals, appetisers) supplying retail and foodservice. Comparable to Innovate as a B2B manufacturer of frozen branded and private-label finger foods, but at vastly larger scale and broader portfolio.
• Lamb Weston: World's largest frozen potato and appetiser supplier, producing coated and breaded frozen products for retail and QSR. Direct category overlap with Innovate's coated finger-food and mozzarella stick lines; significantly larger global footprint.
• Birds Eye (Nomad Foods / Iglo Group): UK's largest frozen food brand with a wide range including frozen fish, poultry and ready meals. Competes for the same UK retailer shelf space and foodservice customers as Innovate, though much larger and portfolio-diversified.
• Aryzta: Swiss-headquartered frozen baked goods and convenience food group producing breads, snacks and frozen meals for retail and foodservice across Europe. Comparable to Innovate as a private-label-heavy European frozen foods manufacturer.

Direct peers

• Aviko: European frozen potato and appetiser specialist producing coated products, snacks and side dishes for retail and foodservice. Closest direct peer to Innovate in terms of product mix (coated frozen snacks/appetisers), B2B model, and reliance on foodservice and retail channels.
• Quorn: UK-based market leader in meat-alternative products sold frozen and chilled via retail and foodservice. Directly comparable to Innovate's New Vegan Stuff range (Vegan Cumberland, No Chicken Bite) in product category, customer base and channel strategy.
• Apetito: UK frozen prepared meals and finger-food manufacturer serving retail, foodservice and care/catering channels. Direct overlap with Innovate in frozen finger-food category and UK-focused retail and foodservice customers.
• Rite Stuff Foods: US frozen appetiser and finger-food manufacturer owned by Frostkrone Food Group (acquired 2019). Sister company to Innovate within the same parent, sharing product category (frozen snacks/appetisers) and customer base across US and international foodservice.

Regional players

• Bonduelle Group: European leader in frozen and canned vegetables, prepared salads and ready-to-eat meals. Comparable to Innovate as a frozen prepared food manufacturer supplying European retail and foodservice, but anchored in vegetable-based products.

Emerging players

• Richmond (by Kerry Foods / Pilgrim's): UK brand now offering plant-based sausage alternatives alongside its traditional pork sausage range, sold across major UK grocers. Comparable to Innovate's Vegan Cumberland Sausage line in product category and UK retail customer base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• Xx.com/innovate_foods

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Innovate Foods