Breadwinners

Name

Breadwinners

Legal name

Breadwinners Foundation

Website

https://breadwinners.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Enterprise Bakery

NAICS

Baked Goods Retailers (445291)

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Retail Bakeries (Bread & Daily Bakery) (THAFAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Bread & Rolls Wholesale (AFAIAFAA), Organic Bakery & Confectionery Wholesale (AFAIAJAG), Artisan & Specialty Bakeries (Sourdough, Heritage Grains) (THAFAFAD)

Keywords

• Refugee employment programmes
• Artisan bread retail
• Charitable social enterprise
• Asylum seeker support
• Wholesale bakery supply

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Charitable donations from individuals and organisations. The Big Give Christmas Challenge doubles donations during campaign periods. For every £1 received in donations, £1.68 is paid to a young refugee for their work.
2. Bread Sales at Markets: Revenue from selling organic artisan bread at farmers' markets in London and Brighton. Bread sales pay wages of young refugees who work at the markets.
3. Online Bread Delivery: E-commerce bread delivery service managed by Proofers programme participants, providing customer service and order fulfillment experience.
4. Wholesale to Corporates and Cafes: Wholesale supply of organic baked goods to corporate partners and cafes.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Breadwinners sells organic artisan bread through farmers' markets in London and Brighton, an online bread delivery service, and wholesale supply to corporates and cafes. Revenue from these bread sales, alongside donations and grants, funds three employability programmes — Risers, Breadwinners, and Proofers — that provide paid work experience, training, and mentoring to young refugees and asylum seekers in the UK. The organisation operates as a registered charity and social enterprise (Charity Registration Number 1166646, founded 2016).

Product overview

Breadwinners is a grassroots charity operating a portfolio of employability programmes and sales channels. The core consists of three programmes: Risers (early intervention for asylum seekers aged 16-24 providing market stall work experience), Breadwinners (employment programme for granted refugees managing markets), and Proofers (digital upskilling through e-commerce). These programmes are supported by three pillars: work, training, and mentoring. Revenue-generating channels include farmers' markets in London and Brighton, an online bread delivery service, and wholesale to corporate clients and cafes. Organic artisan bread products are sourced from partners and sold through these channels, with proceeds funding employment opportunities for refugees.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Risers Programme: Early intervention support programme for young people seeking asylum aged 16 to 24, providing work experience and training as Market Stall Assistants.
• Breadwinners Programme
• Proofers Programme

Products and services

• Risers Programme

Quantifiable outcome

• 92% of participants report a significant increase in wellbeing after taking part in a programme
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Pret a MangercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 May 2026Partnership to get young people from refugee backgrounds into jobs. Breadwinners participants visit Pret locations to learn about working at Pret and explore employment opportunities.
• The Sussex PeasantcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrighton-based local organisation whose bread stalls provide volunteering opportunities for Breadwinners Risers. Two Risers volunteered at The Sussex Peasant's market stalls gaining first-hand experience in customer service, teamwork, and local food retail.
• The Sussex PeasantcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership providing real working environments where Risers can strengthen communication skills, develop workplace experience, and build foundations for future employment.
• On PurposeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOn Purpose hosts events where Breadwinners shares its impact approach and methodology for measuring and communicating impact of work with young refugees.
• homieatsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStartup creating spaces for refugees and asylum seekers to re-live and re-create tastes of home. Co-hosted Iftar social event bringing together Breadwinners community members, past programme participants, and Care4Calais.
• Care4CalaisminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRefugee charity that partnered with Breadwinners and homieats for community Iftar event during Ramadan.
• homieatsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides diverse foods representing countries where Ramadan is observed, supporting cultural connection for refugees during Iftar events.
• Thread AheadcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharity providing brand new clothes, toiletries and accessories to refugees and asylum seekers. Breadwinners invited to exclusive clothing events celebrating creativity and opportunity for young people.
• Shipton MillcoreOthersOrganic flour supplier prioritising soil health, ethical production and long-term sustainability for bread production.
• Celtic BakerscoreOthersOrganic baked goods supplier that respects the planet and people who grow, mill, bake, and share ingredients.
• More Yoga BrixtonminorGTM or Marketing PartnerYoga studio that led a wellbeing session for Breadwinners team, courtesy of London Youth.
• London YouthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMembership organisation providing awards (Inclusive London Youth Award), wellbeing support (yoga sessions), and community network for youth organisations.
• Hope for the YoungminorGTM or Marketing PartnerYouth charity that partnered with Breadwinners for football tournament bringing together young people from different backgrounds.
• Gmax TrackstarsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSports organisation that partnered with Breadwinners for sports day events and football tournaments with Eton College students.
• Eton CollegeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerHosted five-a-side football tournament with Breadwinners, mixing young refugees with Eton College students for community building through sport.
• EarlybirdcoreTechnology or IntegrationAI chatbot partnership enabling participatory evaluation process allowing young people to share feedback in their own words and languages. Sixteen young refugees were paid to call programme participants using the AI tool.
• Gmax TrackstarsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-organised sports day event at London Marathon Community Track stadium with 120 participants from charity partners.
• The FermentariumminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCreated festive baking booklet with traditional recipes to fundraise for Breadwinners.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Change Please: UK social enterprise training and employing people experiencing homelessness to run specialty coffee carts — comparable social enterprise playbook (employability programme + product sales + impact story) though in coffee rather than bakery.
• Breaking Barriers: UK charity supporting refugees into employment through tailored training, mentoring and corporate partnerships — overlap in mission (refugee-to-employment), mentorship model and corporate-placement pathway though without the bakery sales channel.
• The Big Issue: Iconic UK social enterprise providing work opportunities (street magazine sales) and employability support to people experiencing poverty and homelessness — comparable social-enterprise commercial-plus-mission model at substantially larger national scale.
• Jamie Oliver's Fifteen: UK restaurant-training programme for disadvantaged young people, including those from refugee and marginalised backgrounds — analogous 'food business as training vehicle for disadvantaged youth' concept operating at larger incumbent scale.

Others

• Pret Foundation: Charitable arm of Pret a Manger, which is explicitly partnered with Breadwinners (May 2026) for refugee hiring — adjacent as Breadwinners' downstream corporate employer placement partner rather than a competitor.

Emerging players

• The Bread & Butter Project: Sydney-based refugee bakery social enterprise that trains and employs newly arrived refugees in artisan baking — near-identical 'bread as a vehicle for refugee employment' model, operating across a different geography (Australia vs UK).

Direct peers

• Beyond Food Foundation: UK social enterprise providing hospitality and food-industry training to people experiencing homelessness — comparable bakery/food vocational training model targeting UK disadvantaged cohorts with similar pathway-into-employment logic.
• Luminary Bakery: London-based bakery social enterprise that trains and employs women from disadvantaged backgrounds (including refugees) in artisan baking and business skills — operating in the same bakery-as-empowerment model and serving a comparable UK refugee/disadvantaged cohort.
• The Clink Charity: UK charity running bakery, restaurant and horticultural training programmes inside prisons to reduce reoffending — directly analogous operating model of using food/bakery as the vehicle for employability training of a marginalised UK cohort.
• Mazi Mas: UK social enterprise pop-up restaurant run by and employing refugee and migrant women — directly comparable refugee-employment food-business model, though traded via restaurant/catering rather than bakery retail.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/webreadwinners
• Facebookfacebook.com/wearebreadwinners
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/27106061
• Instagraminstagram.com/wearebreadwinners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Breadwinners