A plant-based pizza company from Norwich has secured £360,000 of investment following a successful Dragon’s Den-style pitch, to help boost its production and expand into new markets.
One Planet Pizza, which was started by father and son team Joe and Mike Hill, successfully pitched to angel investors via Anglia Capital Group and secured co-investment from New Anglia Capital, the equity investment fund set up by New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership.
The money will support the company in tripling its current production capacity, securing new retail outlets in the UK and expanding into the European market.
New Anglia Capital co-invests alongside experienced angel investors to support successful projects, with the aim of stimulating entrepreneurship and economic growth across Suffolk and Norfolk.
Joe and Mike started off making the pizzas in their restaurant kitchen in 2016, but quickly outgrew this space and moved to their own purpose-built production unit in Hethersett, Norwich. They are now the UK’s leading frozen vegan pizza company, producing and selling a range of award-winning classic plant-based pizzas.
They successfully secured over £115,000 towards their round, from local Anglia Capital Group members and New Anglia Capital, all of whom are fully supportive of their vision to reduce our carbon footprint.
Mike and Joe estimate the carbon footprint of their pizzas is 54% lower carbon footprint than standard pizzas. Their packaging is proudly ‘zero to landfill’, meaning that everything can either be reused, recycled or composted.
All their products are 100% palm oil free, enriched with flax and chia seed, and are a source of omega 3. And on top of that, their pizzas have at least 50% less salt and sugar on average compared to leading meat and dairy pizzas!
Hannah Smith, Investment Director of Anglia Capital Group, said: “Our members loved the story behind One Planet Pizza. Veganism is on the rise and anything we can do to reduce our carbon footprint is surely a good thing, especially if it tastes good too!”.
One Planet Pizza Co-founder, Mike Hill, said: “We are really excited that such a range of investors believe in One Planet Pizza and what it is trying to achieve. We’re delighted to bring new investors on board and inspire their journey into the plant-based sector.
“We are looking forward to using the extra resources and bandwidth that this investment brings to expand our range of products and broaden the reach of our pizzas into new markets. The future is indeed plant-based and epic pizzas are our way of making a delicious difference!”
C-J Green, Chair of New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “We are delighted to support this local business which has identified a lucrative and growing market. Our region promises to play a significant role in carbon reduction and these products will deliver environmental benefits, as well as creating up to 11 new jobs in the next three years.”
