6 Food Products Business Success Stories [2023]

Updated: April 8th, 2023
Start A Food Products Business

Here are some real life success stories of starting a food products business:

Learn more about starting a food products business:

Where to start?

-> How much does it cost to start a food products business?
-> Pros and cons of a food products business

Need inspiration?

-> Examples of established food products business
-> Marketing ideas for a food products business

Other resources

3. THIS™ ($20.1M/year)

THIS is currently the fastest-growing meat alternative brand in the UK. After launching in 2019, it was recently valued at £150 million. But Co-Founders Andy Shovel and Pete Sharman didn’t always want to help people eat less meat. In fact, before THIS they ran a successful beef burger company.  Andy…

Andy Shovel and Pete Sharman (from London, UK) started THIS™ over 4 years ago.

Revenue
$1.67M / month
Team
2 founders / 83 employees

Case Study

Andy Shovel and Pete Sharman co-founded THIS, a UK-based vegan food company, in 2019.

This is currently taking over supermarkets, with its products primarily marketed to meat eaters who want to embrace a vegan lifestyle.

It is UK’s fastest-growing meat substitute brand, and the company was recently valued at £150 million. The company’s annualized revenue has grown from 0 to £17.5 million with a 333% YoY growth in UK retail in just 3 years.

Initially, co-founders Andy and Pete weren’t originally interested in encouraging people to consume less meat. They had a successful beef burger business before THIS.

Andy sold his first firm at the age of 21. He had always known he wanted to start his own business. He found the direction he needed during an accidental visit to a newly opened restaurant.

Shovel and Sharman, who sold their former franchise of (actual) beef burger restaurants in 2016, now challenge the meat industry and have achieved incredible success as the market’s top vegan brand.

Plant-based alternatives were still a niche market when they began the funding process at the beginning of 2018. The future of THIS is promising as it has already attracted £21 million in funding.

This brand has over 10,000 retail distribution points in almost all of the largest UK retailers, and their production rate for recurring business is nearly twice as high as the industry standard.

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  • Website traffic: 66M/month
  • Business rank: #885

Check out their full website ➜

5. industry buying

  • Website traffic: 1.93M/month
  • Business rank: #20.9K

Check out their full website ➜

6. Ghirardelli Chocolate Company

Ghirardelli has been inspired by our San Francisco home since 1852. Ghirardelli represents a range of truly exceptional chocolate experiences, from classic, individually wrapped SQUARES to bars to baking chips and sauces. Ghirardelli makes products in the US and controls the entire chocolate-making process from cocoa bean to finished product, which delivers the signature intense, smooth-melting taste consumers have come to know and love. Whether it be luscious Caramel, Intense & complex Dark Chocolate, or festive Peppermint Bark, there is a flavor for everyone. Ghirardelli makes Life a Bite Better.

  • Website traffic: 240K/month
  • Business rank: #136K

Check out their full website ➜

Pat Walls,  Founder of Starter Story
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