British Startup Modern Baker Secures €2.8 Million In Series A Round

The company aims to change the way people see ultra-processed food (UPF) — by proving it can be healthy when made with nutrient-dense ingredients, without losing out on taste or convenience. The funding round was led by impact investor network Adjuvo.

Co-founder Melissa Sharp, whose experience in a chemo ward led to their six-year mission of rethinking food’s role in illness, said: “This is about fixing UPFs, not fighting them. The real enemy isn’t processing or additives – it’s nutrient poverty. We’re proving UPFs can be actively healthy, if done right.”

Founded in 2017 by Leo Campbell and Melissa Sharp, Modern Baker is on a mission to turn ultra-processed food into a tool for better health.

The company has received seven UK government grants and partnered with university labs to build its nutrient-dense food platform and intellectual property.

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Its first product, SUPERLOAF – made by Hovis – is now available in top UK retailers like M&S, Sainsbury’s, and Ocado. The bread is designed to improve blood sugar levels and gut health, showing how everyday foods can support large-scale health improvements.

“Adjuvo’s backing brings not only capital, but also a strategic network with deep influence across retail, food, and consumer tech sectors,” said Co-founder Leo Campbell. “The idea of a ‘healthy UPF’ may sound audacious – but it’s the only credible solution to the trillion-pound cost of poor diet. And we have living proof in SUPERLOAF and its lab-validated data. This is transformative – for public health, and for UK PLC as a new global hub of health innovation.”

Adjuvo CEO Mark Foster-Brown added: “Modern Baker exemplifies the kind of purposeful, IP-rich innovation we back – ambitious, disruptive, and grounded in real science. Their ability to reframe a global health challenge through food tech is as inspiring as it is investable.”

Modern Baker doesn’t follow the usual food company model. Instead, it uses a capital-light, SaaS-style approach that allows manufacturers to improve existing food brands with better nutrition—helping shift them away from the “unhealthy” label.

“Our model is to work with the food industry, not against it,” said Campbell. “While others attack UPFs from the outside, we’re building the fix from within – staying lean and agile, while our partners scale globally.”​

Hovis is the first brand to license the technology, with more products in the pipeline—ranging from biscuits and sweet baked goods to cereals, ready meals, and drinks—all falling under ultra-processed categories currently being re-evaluated.

“With global food players and public health bodies now talking to us, the Series A will accelerate our commercial rollout and deepen the scientific case. But this is bigger than one product or company. The UK government is actively seeking progressive solutions for population health – alongside innovation-led economic growth. Nutrient density delivers both. It’s a scalable fix for the food system – and a serious opportunity for UK PLC,” added Campbell.

About Modern Baker

Oxford-based Modern Baker, founded in 2017, develops clean-label ingredient technologies to make ultra-processed foods healthier. Its flagship product, SUPERLOAF, improves gut health and blood sugar response. Backed by UK grants and private funding, the company aims to transform staple foods like bread into tools for preventive health on a global scale.