Future of Food

Name

Future of Food

Legal name

Future of Food Ltd

Website

https://futureoffood.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Innovation Competition Platform

akta.pro primary industry

Food, Wine & Beverage Festivals/Expos (MPAGAFAE)

Keywords

• Food entrepreneur competition
• Food industry innovation
• Food export community
• Food business pitching
• Sustainable food networking

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Competition Revenue: The Future of Food competition is explicitly not-for-profit and free to enter and attend. Event funds and prize money are donated through philanthropic means.
2. FDEA Membership Subscriptions: Sister organization Food & Drink Exporters Association generates revenue through tiered membership: Collaborator (£25/month), Verified Exporter (£50/month), and Approved Partner (£75/month). Membership provides profiles, networking, event discounts, and export support services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Future of Food operates a UK-focused, not-for-profit annual competition platform that invites innovative food and drink entrepreneurs to submit a 500-word pitch and present live at a flagship event at the Royal Geographical Society, with categories covering Main Award, Blue Skies Award and Restaurant/Hot Pickle Award. Surrounding the competition, the company runs The Collaborative online community (powered by Circle.so) for year-round networking, profile visibility and resource access, and operates the sister Food & Drink Exporters Association (FDEA) community offering paid tiered memberships that help UK food exporters reach international markets.

Product overview

Future of Food is a not-for-profit competition and community platform for food entrepreneurs. Its core offering is the annual Future of Food Competition (Main Award, Blue Skies Award, and Restaurant Award), combined with The Collaborative Community platform for ongoing networking and member engagement. A sister community, the Food & Drink Exporters Association (FDEA), extends the offering to help innovators reach international markets through export support programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Food & Drink Exporters Association (FDEA): Sister community helping UK food innovators reach beyond UK shorelines and develop international footprints

Products and services

• Future of Food Competition Annual not-for-profit competition for UK food entrepreneurs to pitch innovative concepts addressing five themed transitions (Health, Production, Technology, Circularity, Equity). Free to enter; finalists pitch live at the Royal Geographical Society to win a £10,000 grant plus discretionary partner prizes and gain access to the Ocado 'Future of Food Edit' retail partnership.
• The Collaborative Community Year-round online community (hosted on Circle.so) for food entrepreneurs, finalists and industry stakeholders. Offers profiles, networking, resources, event access and visibility beyond the annual competition window.
• FDEA Membership Subscriptions Sister organisation Food & Drink Exporters Association offering tiered paid memberships (Collaborator £25/month, Verified Exporter £50/month, Approved Partner £75/month) with profiles, Meet-the-Buyer events, masterclasses, webinars, networking and export support for UK food and drink exporters.

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Ocado RetailcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 April 2026Strategic partnership to launch the 'Future of Food Edit' aisle on Earth Day. Future of Food acts as a curator and validator of next-generation health and sustainability-focused brands. Ocado provides omnichannel marketing, peer networking, and a 12-month mentoring programme through the Ocado x Future of Food community. 77% of UK consumers want retailers to make healthier, more sustainable choices easier.
• Royal Geographical SocietycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrestigious London venue for the annual Future of Food final event. Hosts 16 pitch stations in Map Room and Education Centre, and the Ondaatje Lecture Theatre for main presentations.
• Bramble PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInvestment and intelligence firm in the food system. Chris Mitchell hosts expert panels at the competition. Henry Dimbleby (co-founder) serves as Head Judge and Blue Skies Award presenter, investing in founders fixing the food system.
• Joelson LLPcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCorporate and commercial law firm. Paul Chiappe (Managing Partner) and Phil Hails-Smith (Partner) serve as judges, advising on M&A and venture capital for founder-led brands.
• Food & Drink Exporters Association (FDEA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister community to Future of Food (from January 2026) helping innovators reach beyond UK shorelines. Run by Barney Mauleverer and team with Katie Birrell as Managing Director. Supports UK food export growth toward £35bn goal by 2035.
• Circle.socoreTechnology or IntegrationWhite-label community platform provider for The Collaborative website and app. Hosts profiles, networking, events, and resources for Future of Food community members.
• Hot PicklecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading food and drink brand experience and innovation agency. Ollie Lloyd (Head of Innovation) heads up the Future Restaurants Award category at the competition.
• UK Department for Business and Trade (DBT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment department supporting UK trade. Partner of FDEA helping UK food exporters reach international markets.
• Scottish Development International (SDI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerScotland's international development body, partnered with FDEA to support Scottish food and drink exporters.
• Invest Northern IrelandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorthern Ireland's economic development agency, partnered with FDEA to support Northern Irish food and drink exporters.
• Welsh GovernmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWelsh Government support for Welsh food and drink exporters through FDEA partnership.
• DEFRAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, partnered with FDEA to support food and drink industry growth.
• Food and Drink Federation (FDF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry trade body representing UK food and drink manufacturers, partnered with FDEA for export support.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• EIT Food: EU-backed food innovation partnership running startup competitions, accelerators, and innovation prizes for agrifood founders. Shared focus on health, sustainability, and circularity categories with overlapping target applicant profile.
• Foodbytes by Rabobank: Rabobank's flagship global food and agtech startup competition/program. Operates an annual pitch competition plus a multi-week accelerator, recruiting early-stage food founders and connecting them to corporate partners and investors — directly analogous to Future of Food's competition-plus-community model.
• FoodHack: Global food innovation community and events platform (including FoodHack Summit) targeting food-tech founders, investors, and corporate innovators. Comparable event-and-community GTM motion focused on surfacing next-generation food brands.
• Bread & Jam: UK food and beverage founder accelerator and competition, running annual cohorts and showcase events for emerging brands. Most direct UK analogue in terms of targeting Seed-to-Series-A food entrepreneurs with retail and investor introductions.
• FoodMatters Live: UK-based food and beverage innovation exhibition and conference featuring start-up showcases, expert panels, and buyer/investor attendance. Closely overlaps in audience (innovators, retailers, investors) and format (live showcase + content) with Future of Food's annual event.

Broad incumbents

• The Grocer: Leading UK grocery trade title (judge Jacqui Parr is its editor) running the long-established 'New Product Awards' plus extensive editorial coverage of food innovation. Comparable audience and award mechanics, though embedded within a larger B2B media business.
• Food and Drink Federation (FDF): UK food and drink manufacturing trade association, partnered with FDEA. Provides industry-wide networking, policy advocacy, and events at much broader scale; comparable as an industry convener but not a competition platform.
• SIAL: One of the world's largest food trade exhibitions (flagship in Paris, plus SIAL Canada, SIAL China, etc.). Operates at materially larger scale but covers the same fundamental function — connecting food innovators, retailers, and buyers at a curated showcase event.

Emerging players

• ProVeg FoodTech Prize: ProVeg's annual startup prize supporting plant-based and alternative-protein innovators. Specializes in one subsegment (alt-protein) of the broader future-of-food theme that Future of Food's competition covers more broadly.
• The Big Food Redesign Challenge: WRAP-hosted multi-stakeholder challenge engaging brands and innovators around circular packaging and food waste. Operates a similar challenge format aimed at surfacing innovative packaging/waste solutions — directly overlapping the Circularity theme in Future of Food's framework.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/future-of-food-org

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Future of Food