Green Gourmet

What Green Gourmet does

Green Gourmet is a UK-based food innovation company founded in 1991 by Adam Starkey, headquartered in Stroud, Gloucestershire. The company designs, develops, and distributes portion-controlled, individually quick frozen (IQF) food products across two primary verticals: education catering and airline/travel catering. Education clients include schools and Local Authorities (notably across Scotland via ASSIST FM), while travel clients comprise some of the world's largest airlines across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, and North America. The company also maintains a secondary retail presence. Green Gourmet is a privately held, founder-influenced limited company registered in England and Wales, operating without disclosed institutional funding.

The company's core capability sits in its dedicated new product development (NPD) kitchen, which functions as a bespoke product and packaging innovation facility. Green Gourmet administers production through partner BRC-accredited manufacturing sites rather than operating owned factories, supporting an asset-light operating model. Product lines include Red Tractor-accredited poultry, MSC/MCS-accredited fish, and Red Tractor red meat for education, alongside hot snack products (pizza twists, chips, fatayers) for airline buy-on-board and complimentary cabin service. Recurring differentiators across SKUs are portion control, a cross-functional allergen management system, the 50+ curriculum-aligned Theme Days programme, and sustainable, recyclable packaging design.

The business operates on two revenue streams: proprietary food product sales to foodservice and retail markets and bespoke development/professional services for airline and other clients. Go-to-market is sales-led, with outreach through industry events (LACA, WTCE in Hamburg, IFSA in the USA), content marketing, and direct email contact. The company holds an unusually dense set of certifications (B Corp, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, Red Tractor, MSC, MCS, Food for Life Supplier Scheme, Halal, Living Wage Employer) that double as regulatory moats and sales enablers. Senior leadership includes ex-CSM/ASDA/Premier Foods CEO Mike Hanley, ex-GE CFO Robin Bussey, and ex-Mothercare Director of People Caroline Barnes; the company reports positive net profit and balance sheet growth every year including through the pandemic.

Name

Green Gourmet

Legal name

Green Gourmet Limited

Website

https://greengourmet.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Green Gourmet is a UK-based food innovation company designing portion-controlled IQF food products, theme-day programmes, and bespoke packaging development for education caterers, global airlines, and retail markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Frozen Food Manufacturing (Foodservice)

NAICS

Frozen Food Manufacturing (31141), Poultry Processing (311615)

SIC

Canned, Frozen & Preservd Fruit, Veg & Food Specialties (2030), Prepared Fresh Or Frozen Fish & Seafoods (2092), Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYAFAKAHAA

Frozen prepared meals & entrées manufacturing

Agriculture & Food Production/Food Processing & Manufacturing/Prepared Meals, Ready-to-Eat & Convenience Foods Manufacturing

SECONDARYAFAKALAE

Ground & Formed Meat Products Manufacturing (Burgers, Sausages, Meatballs)

Agriculture & Food Production/Food Processing & Manufacturing/Meat Processing (Beef, Pork, Poultry)

Keywords

• Food product innovation
• Foodservice manufacturing
• School catering supply
• Airline catering snacks
• Frozen portion control

Headquarters

HQ city

Stroud

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, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Food Product Innovation & Manufacturing: Designs food products in their development kitchen, sources raw materials and ingredients from food suppliers, administers production at partner BRC accredited manufacturing sites, and manages marketing and distribution of food products to sites across UK and internationally. Revenue generated from selling proprietary food products to foodservice and retail markets.
2. Bespoke Development Services: Works as a bespoke development partner for airlines and other customers, overcoming individual customer problems through innovation relating to product, packaging and manufacturing processes. Provides targeted product development services for Economy, Business and First Class.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Green Gourmet designs, develops and distributes portion-controlled, individually quick frozen (IQF) food products for the education catering and airline travel catering sectors from a dedicated new product development kitchen. The company administers production at partner BRC accredited manufacturing sites, sources raw materials from approved suppliers, and manages marketing and distribution to sites across the UK and internationally. It also acts as a bespoke development partner for airlines, providing targeted product, packaging, and manufacturing process innovation.

Product overview

Green Gourmet is a food innovation company operating as a single unified product offering across multiple sectors: Education and Travel. The Education division provides three core product categories (Poultry, Fish, and Red Meat) with Food for Life certification support and Theme Days programs. The Travel division offers Hot Travel Snacks (pizza twists, chips, fatayers) with bespoke innovation and development services. All products share common attributes: quality certifications (Red Tractor, MSC, Halal), portion-controlled convenience, and focus on food innovation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Poultry Products Red Tractor accredited portion-controlled, individually quick frozen (IQF) poultry range including chicken breast fillets, goujons and portions. Halal certification available. Designed for school caterers and foodservice customers needing consistent, convenient protein products.
• Fish Products
• Red Meat Products
• Hot Travel Snacks
• Theme Days Programme
• Travel Innovation & Development Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Engagement consistently ranks at 90% among employees
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ASSIST FMcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019ASSIST FM voted Green Gourmet as their Supplier of the Year 2019. Green Gourmet works to support Local Authorities across Scotland, providing innovative food products and support materials for the education sector.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• 366 Catering (Bidfood): 366 Catering is a major UK foodservice wholesaler distributing into education, travel and leisure operators. Broader and larger than Green Gourmet but addresses the same school catering and travel catering buyers.
• Bidfood: Bidfood is the UK's leading foodservice distributor serving education, travel and hospitality. Overlaps Green Gourmet's end markets at a broader scale but does not focus on bespoke product innovation.
• 2 Sisters Food Group: 2 Sisters is one of the UK's largest food manufacturers across poultry, frozen and chilled categories supplying retail and foodservice. Broader incumbent overlap with Green Gourmet's frozen protein range.

Direct peers

• Creed Foodservice: Creed is a UK foodservice wholesaler with strong education sector penetration and dedicated support materials for caterers. Overlaps Green Gourmet's school catering distribution and customer base.
• The Menu Partners: The Menu Partners is an airline catering specialist supplying hot meals and snacks to airline operators. Direct overlap with Green Gourmet's airline travel division on product category and customer type.
• Apetito: Apetito is a UK-based frozen prepared meals manufacturer serving care, education and healthcare caterers. Directly comparable to Green Gourmet's education division in terms of portion-controlled frozen meals delivered into school catering channels.
• Thomas Ridley Foodservice: Thomas Ridley is a UK independent foodservice wholesaler serving education, healthcare and hospitality caterers. Comparable in reach into UK school catering and similar buyer profile to Green Gourmet's education division.
• Young's Seafood: Young's Seafood is a major UK fish products manufacturer with IQF fish fingers and portion-controlled ranges sold into retail and foodservice. Comparable to Green Gourmet's MSC/MCS accredited fish portfolio into school catering.
• Marshall Foods: Marshall Foods is a UK own-label and branded foodservice manufacturer supplying hot snacks, pizzas and wraps into travel catering and retail channels. Closely matches Green Gourmet's airline hot snack proposition and BRC-partnered manufacturing model.
• Moy Park (Pilgrim's Europe): Moy Park is one of the UK's largest poultry processors supplying retail, foodservice and education channels. Comparable on Red Tractor accredited poultry products and IQF portion-controlled ranges into school catering.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/GreenGourmetUK
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/green-gourmet-ltd
• Facebookfacebook.com/greengourmetuk

Compliance9 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 Green Gourmet