Weekly Digest #13
27.10.2025
Welcome to The Fork’s Lens
Every week, we serve up a quick, flavourful dose of what’s cooking at the intersection of food, drink, and entrepreneurship.
Expect:
🍴 Sharp founder insights
📊 Bite-sized industry trends
🛠 Tools & tips to level up
🔥 Events & openings worth your time
For those of you building food brands, launching products, or just hungry for what’s next – this one’s for you.
Mentoring, Mushrooms & Meals
📨 Weekly #13: Mentoring, Mushrooms & Meals
🍴 What’s Up?
Efficiency’s still the dish of the day – but now it’s being served with a side of inflation. Between grocery giants tinkering with loyalty and policy wonks floating “junk-food taxes,” everyone’s trying to balance purpose with profit. Founders are doubling down on doing more with less: fewer buzzwords, more bottles on shelves, more mushrooms in your morning latte.
🔥 UK Moves
Food-poverty report calls for a ‘Junk-Food’ tax to subsidise healthy diets
A new report by government advisers proposes a levy on HFSS (high fat, salt, sugar) foods, with revenue ring-fenced to subsidise fruit, vegetables and school meals. It highlights that the poorest 20 % of UK households would need to spend 45 % of disposable income to meet healthy-diet guidelines.
The Grocer / BBC NewsSainsbury’s, Morrisons and Weetabix back free school meals
Three major UK food players have joined the campaign to extend free school meals, citing research linking access to improved nutrition, concentration and long-term health. The coalition aims to influence the next government budget.
Retail Gazette / The GrocerCoca-Cola CEO admits they expected more from Costa Coffee
Coca-Cola’s chief executive said Costa’s growth has been slower than planned, hinting at tighter integration targets and cost efficiencies to lift profitability. The chain currently operates more than 3,000 UK stores but has seen flat same-store sales in 2025.
Financial Times / ReutersThomas Straker launches Italian olive-oil brand Donna Franca
Thomas Straker, co-founder of All Things Butter, unveiled Donna Franca, an Italian olive-oil line bottled in sleek green aluminium for sustainability and shelf appeal. Early buzz on Instagram praises its design and small-batch sourcing from Puglia.
Instagram / Company announcementEra VC invests in Everystate, co-founded by Ellie Goulding
Era VC has backed Everystate, a functional-mushroom wellness brand launched by popstar Ellie Goulding and Gemma Feare. The London-based startup debuted in May with three drink-mix SKUs for focus, calm and energy, and plans retail rollout in 2026.
Tech EU / LinkedInPizza Hut UK to close 68 restaurants, cutting 1,210 jobs
Pizza Hut’s UK franchise operator has gone into administration, forcing the closure of 68 outlets and affecting over 1,200 jobs. The chain cited high rent, energy costs, and sluggish consumer spending as key pressures. Yum! Brands, Pizza Hut’s global parent, is stepping in to support a smaller network of sites and preserve some jobs, preventing a total collapse of the UK business.
ReutersEIT Food awards €600 k to 18 ag-food-tech start-ups
EIT Food granted between €20 k and €50 k each to 18 European start-ups through its Tech Validation Funding programme to accelerate proof-of-concept and pilot validation.
EIT Food / New Tech Foods
UK launches AgriScale manufacturing pilot
Innovate UK’s AgriScale programme will support five ag-tech firms in transitioning prototypes into small-scale production via technical mentoring and funding.
UKRI / GOV.UKTesco strengthens lead as grocery inflation stays above 5 %
Tesco’s market share climbed to 28.3 % in the 12 weeks to 5 October, even as grocery inflation held at 5.2 %. Volume sales rose 3 % YoY, outpacing discounters for the first time since 2021.
Kantar / Reuters / The GuardianEU Commission proposes generational-renewal strategy for farming
The European Commission introduced a plan to help farmers under 40 access land and finance, alongside incentives for digital and sustainable farming adoption.
European Commission / Agri News Europe
🌍 Global Moves & Trends
Chobani raises $650 m at $20 bn valuation
Yogurt giant Chobani secured $650 million to fund a new $1.2 billion processing plant and $500 million Idaho expansion. The round values the company at $20 billion with 2025 net sales forecast at $3.8 billion (up 28 % YoY).
Reuters / BloombergEuropean Agrifood Biotech Alliance launches
A new pan-European coalition has formed to build public trust and policy alignment in food biotech, with members from research centres, corporates and VCs across 12 countries.
Forbes / FoodNavigatorSelective large funding rounds persist in ag-tech
Recent deals include Wild Bioscience’s $60 million raise and Starship’s $50 million round, highlighting continued investor confidence in deep tech and IP-rich platforms despite a broader slowdown.
AgFunderNews
💭 The Fork & The Flame
“Good operators beat good storytellers – every single time.”
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About Forks & Founders
We believe bold food brands deserve bold support. That’s why we’ve built a collective of seasoned foodies, retail rebels, creative storytellers, and numbers nerds – people who’ve been in the kitchen, the boardroom, and the shop floor. We jump in where you need us most, helping you turn big ideas into bites people can’t stop talking about. Because building a food brand isn’t just business – it’s passion, flavour, and a little bit of chaos. We’re here to make sure it’s the good kind.
