UK-Based FoodTech Startup Better Nature Raises €1.2 Million Funding

The majority of the investment came from angel investors, with 70% being repeat backers. The funds will support the company’s sales and marketing expansion, drive new product development, and strengthen its position among health-focused and flexitarian consumers.

Elin Roberts, Co-CEO of Better Nature, said: “We’re now the UK’s number one tempeh brand by volume, with 38.1% market share, leading the category’s impressive 41% growth.”

“Our latest fundraising round is a brilliant boost for the business at a point when the tempeh category is rapidly gaining momentum, and we are seeing strong brand growth,” she added.

Founded in 2018 by Elin Roberts, Fabio Rinaldo, Chris Kong, and Indonesian food scientist Dr. Ando (Driando) Ahnan-Winarno, Better Nature blends health, sustainability, and tradition through its tempeh products made from fermented whole soybeans. Now available at Tesco, Asda, and over 1,300 stores in Germany, the brand is making strides in the plant-based space.

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Better Nature aims to disrupt the UK’s €3.7 billion chicken market with its high-protein, gut-friendly alternatives. Despite investor caution amid a 49% drop in alt-protein funding in H1 2025, this latest round marks a major step forward in its UK and European growth.

The startup is riding the wave of consumer shift toward healthier plant-based options, especially as skepticism around ultra-processed meat substitutes grows. Earlier this year, it reformulated its core tempeh to deliver 22g of protein per 100g—on par with three eggs—while keeping ingredients clean.

Now marketed as “supercharged protein,” Better Nature positions itself against conventional animal proteins like chicken, dubbed “so-so protein” by co-founder Roberts.

In 2024, it became the UK’s second fastest-growing meat-free brand with 457% sales growth. Its original tempeh is the category’s best-seller at Tesco, and Asda carries its full product range exclusively. In Germany, Q2 2025 sales jumped 330%, with Austria next in line and two more markets planned for this year.

“Internationally, we’re also making waves – in Germany, our revenues skyrocketed [by] 330% year-on-year in Q2 2025, making us the leading tempeh brand in the market,” Roberts noted. “We’ve expanded into Austria and we’re gearing up for launches in two more international markets later this year.”

The company’s growth mirrors changing trends in the UK protein market. While traditional meat alternatives saw a nearly 10% decline in 2024, affordable whole-food options like tofu, tempeh and seitan gained traction. Tempeh sales in the UK rose by 85% year-on-year, driven by rising demand for high-fibre, high-protein plant foods.

Better Nature appears well-positioned to ride this wave. In May, it appointed Helen Atkinson—formerly with Dr Oetker and Bel Group—as head of sales, ahead of launching its biggest marketing campaign to date.

“As a brand, we’re perfectly poised to capture the huge trends in health right now: high-protein, gut-friendly, natural, fibre-rich and plant-based,” said Roberts. “With the new funding, we will continue to drive mainstream brand growth, going beyond the plant-based aisle to tap into the growing market for natural, gut-friendly proteins.”

About Better Nature

Founded in 2018, Better Nature offers supercharged plant protein through tempeh—fermented whole soybeans rich in fibre, protein, and prebiotics. Available in major UK and EU stores, the B Corp™ also supports childhood nutrition in Indonesia. Sustainably made with low emissions, tempeh is a delicious, gut-friendly alternative to meat.