Tesco has pledged £20m to a venture capital fund set up by Leon co-founder Henry Dimbleby to back businesses developing healthier and more sustainable food.
It is investing in Bramble Partners’ first fund, which is targeting £100m to invest in businesses across the food supply chain.
Bramble will target companies developing products and technologies designed to improve areas including health and nutrition, sustainable food production and the circular economy.
The fund is focused on UK and European businesses between Series A and growth stage, with Bramble typically investing several million pounds in each company it backs.
The investment firm said it was looking for businesses capable of benefiting from major changes sweeping through the food industry, including advances in artificial intelligence, changing public policy, climate pressures, new nutritional science and the growth of weight-loss drugs.
It said its wider aim was to build a food system that could generate commercial returns while providing healthier food and reducing its impact on the environment.
Dimbleby launched Bramble Partners in 2024 after previously co-founding healthy fast-food chain Leon and leading the government-commissioned National Food Strategy.
He serves as co-founder and managing partner of Bramble, which combines its investment activities with an advisory business working with companies across the food industry.
Tesco steps up start-up investment
Tesco’s is increasingly looking to venture capital to gain access to emerging technologies and businesses that could reshape the grocery sector.
The retailer is already one of five supermarket groups behind W23 Global, a $125m (£93m) venture fund established in 2024 alongside Ahold Delhaize, Woolworths Group, Canada’s Empire Company and South Africa’s Shoprite.
Tesco committed $25m to that fund over five years, with W23 Global investing in start-ups focused on areas including improving the in-store and online customer experience, boosting supply chain productivity and tackling sustainability challenges.
Chief executives from each of the five grocery groups also sit on W23 Global’s investment committee.
The latest £20m commitment comes as Tesco places food innovation and sustainability at the heart of its growth strategy.
In its latest annual results, the supermarket identified “winning in food” as one of its core strategic priorities, with a focus on value, quality, range, innovation and making nutritious food more accessible to shoppers.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
