Maidenhead: NVM invests £3m in branded food business

NVM Private Equity has invested £3 million of growth capital into Maidenhead-based branded food business The Primal Pantry. 

With a vision to be a leading and trusted real food brand, the investment will be targeted at growing retail distribution and in-store visibility along with driving brand awareness through consumer marketing channels.

NVM’s backing will allow the brand to continue to innovate and reach an increasing number of consumers who are conscious about the impact their food choices have on themselves and wider society.

Founded by Suzie Walker in 2014 at her kitchen table, Primal Bars are now sold in over 7,000 distribution points in the UK including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Co-op and WH Smith. International sales currently account for 30% of turnover and will continue to be developed by co-founder Dominic Maxwell who will also lead the company’s innovation pipeline.

Proudly made with only a handful of carefully selected ingredients, the award-winning Primal Bars are shaking up the snacking category and creating a real food revolution. The brand recently launched a new and enhanced range of protein bars each containing 15g of plant-based protein. The latest extension to the range Double Espresso High Protein Bar which in addition to 15g of protein also boasts 146mg of caffeine has been recently hailed by The Grocer as one of the most innovative snack bars on the market.

As part of the growth plan, the company has expanded its leadership team. Hash Alsaidi joins as sales director bringing with him a wealth of experience across roles at Mondelez, Unilever and Gü, amongst others. Nathan Griffiths, joins as head of marketing with a strong background in customer and trade marketing, born out of his time at Perfetti Van Melle.  

With a mission to start a real food revolution and encourage others to make better food choices Suzie Walker and her team look forward to an exciting year ahead.

NVM has a history of backing innovative branded food businesses and. This investment represents NVM’s third growth capital investment of 2018.

Walker said: “We are incredibly delighted to be welcoming NVM on our journey to becoming a leading and trusted real food brand. With their backing we can take The Primal Pantry to the next level, ensuring more consumers have the opportunity to try our products and encouraging them to make better food choices.

"Led by impulse shopper and consumer needs, the healthy snacking category is finally finding its own space in store, but there is a lot more work to be done. With this investment we want to further support the category growth through insight, true innovation and shopper marketing to bring the fixture to life.

"At The Primal Pantry we are as committed to our values today as we were four years ago when we started. We believe food products should be made with real wholefood ingredients, keeping it simple and tasting fantastic.”

Charlie Pidgeon, investment manager of NVM Private Equity, said: “The Primal Pantry is an exciting premium branded food business which has grown rapidly since inception. In a short period of time the business has built a strong and recognisable brand and has accumulated an impressive roster of retailers stocking the business’s products. Having been impressed with the team’s achievements to date, we believe the business has the potential to become a category leader in the rapidly growing healthy snacking sector. We are therefore extremely excited at the prospect of backing Suzie, Dom and the wider team in the next stage of The Primal Pantry’s development.”