Functional foods dominate Alantra's UK Fast 50

The 15th edition of Alantra's Food & Beverage Fast 50 — an annual ranking of the UK's fastest-growing privately owned food and drink companies — paints a stark picture of where consumer spending is actually moving.

Functional foods and wellness-positioned beverages now dominate the top of the table, with three of the five fastest-growing businesses selling products designed to support physical or mental health.

The top five fastest-growing brands were:

1. DIRTEA, a functional mushroom brand co-founded by brothers Andrew and Simon Salter in 2021, took the top spot with a two-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 230%.
2. Goodrays, a CBD-infused drinks company, 218% CAGR.
3. Tonic Health, a nutritional supplements business, 198% CAGR.
4. TRIP, the CBD drinks brand that topped last year's list, 178% CAGR.
5. Spacegoods, rounded out the top five at 177% CAGR.

All five are selling into the same broad consumer shift: a growing demand for products that actively support health outcomes, rather than simply removing unwanted ingredients.

A record year at the top

The average CAGR across the top five hit 190%, the highest in the ranking's 15-year history, up from 184% last year. Across all 50 businesses, the average was 35%, also a record figure.

Those numbers look even more notable against the backdrop. The UK food and drink manufacturing sector is, by most accounts, struggling. The Food & Drink Federation has revised its food inflation forecast to at least 9% by the end of 2026, driven by rising employment costs, the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme — expected to add £1.1 billion in costs from October 2025 — and persistent input price pressure. Consumer confidence in the sector remains low.

The Fast 50 companies, in other words, are growing in spite of the environment, not because of it. Total revenues across the 50 businesses reached £2.40 billion, with the average company recording revenues of £48.0 million.

Wellness is the category that keeps compounding

The report's standout trend is the continued acceleration of functional foods. The number of functional food businesses in the ranking has doubled since 2019 and roughly a third of all 50 companies sell products with health and wellness positioning of some kind.

This tracks with broader market data. The UK functional foods market was valued at approximately $10.35 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of around 8.9%, according to industry analysts.

McKinsey research cited in Alantra's report notes that around half of UK, US and German consumers have bought a functional food or nutritional product in the past year, with the proportion rising to roughly two-thirds among Gen Z and millennials.

Shoppers are actively seeking ingredients that deliver specific benefits — gut health, cognitive function, energy, immunity — and they're not prepared to sacrifice taste or experience to get them. DIRTEA's strategy of adding mushroom supplements to existing daily rituals like coffee and matcha, rather than asking consumers to adopt new habits, is a case in point.

Deal activity is picking up

Nine of the 50 businesses have taken on private equity investment, and the report highlights a growing trend of celebrity-backed rounds.

• Goodrays raised a £5 million Series A backed by Guinness Ventures and television presenters Vernon Kay and Tess Daly
• TRIP secured a £5.6 million equity investment from The Equity Studio, and gut health brand.
• Bio&Me counts England footballer Harry Kane among its investors.

The deal flow extends beyond fundraising. Two companies from last year's Fast 50 were acquired and are no longer eligible for this year's ranking.

Elsewhere, sports nutrition brand Applied Nutrition completed its IPO at a £375 million valuation, Clearly Drinks was bought by Supreme for £15.6 million, and private equity group 3i sold pet food producer MPM to Partners Group for around £400 million — a 3.2x return on its original investment. Cat food brand Untamed, ranked seventh this year, closed a £10 million Series B, while Butternut Box secured €75 million in debt financing. Larger trade buyers are also active, with Yeo Valley acquiring premium yoghurt company The Collective and Compleat Food Group snapping up The Real Yorkshire Pudding Company.

The full Alantra Food & Beverage Fast 50 report, including case studies on DIRTEA, Goodrays, Tonic Health, Hawkstone and Untamed, is available from Alantra.