Foodtech startup Angus Way raises £240k led by Neil Butler
This article covers Angus Way, a foodtech startup that has closed a £126k pre-seed funding round to accelerate retail distribution and scale direct-to-consumer sales. The funding is intended to expand marketing, boost subscription growth and shore up supply-chain capacity as the brand prepares for supermarket listings in the UK grocery market.
Angus Way, a foodtech startup making grass-fed beef sticks, has closed a £126k pre-seed funding round to accelerate retail distribution and scale direct-to-consumer sales. The raise comes as the founders prepare the brand for supermarket listings and aim to expand subscriptions and supply-chain capacity ahead of wider retail rollout.
Why it matters
The deal highlights a niche but growing appetite for higher-protein, less processed snacks in the UK grocery market. Angus Way positions itself against ultra-processed protein bars by offering a simple meat-based alternative, and early customer data — including a majority female customer base — suggests there may be demand beyond traditional meat-snacking shoppers. For independent food brands, moving from direct sales and specialist retailers into mainstream retail is a crucial step and one that often requires upfront investment in production and distribution.
Inside the product
Angus Way makes grass-fed beef sticks that its founders say offer a cleaner ingredient profile than many protein snacks. Co-founders Lewis Wilkins and Alfie Newland developed the product after discovering similar snacks abroad and identified a gap in the UK market. They launched the brand in 2025 from a London kitchen and have since grown organically.
The product is currently stocked by online retailer WellEasy, the London-based food shop chain Nourished Communities, and other independent grocers. The company is focused on growing online customer acquisition and subscriptions while strengthening supply-chain relationships to meet the volume and consistency retailers demand. Angus Way reports an annualised run rate of £240k based on sales in the seven months to September 2026 and says it has served over 2,000 customers to date.
Who are the investors?
The pre-seed round was led by Neil Butler, a former director at Meridian Foods, with participation from a group of angel investors.
In the announcement, Neil Butler, former director at Meridian Foods, said:
I invested because the product is great, supports British farmers and will exploit a gap in the market, and because of the catching enthusiasm of the founders.
The funding will be used to expand marketing and subscription growth and to shore up the supply chain ahead of mainstream retail listings.
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Founder perspective
The founders frame Angus Way as a response to limited options for minimally processed protein snacks in the UK. In the announcement, Lewis Wilkins, co-founder at Angus Way, said:
We started Angus Way in a small London kitchen trying to figure out how we could make some beef sticks for ourselves. Today, we’ve served over 2,000 customers and the feedback we get is consistent: people are asking for snacks like this. We look forward to partnering with UK retailers to bring a new snack to the shelves and to bring people into meat snacking who wouldn’t traditionally look down that aisle, something we already see with a majority female customer base.
Their strategy centres on proving retail demand through online sales and independent listings, then leveraging those traction points to win larger supermarket listings.
The bigger picture
Angus Way’s raise is a reminder that the UK grocery sector still has room for new product formats, particularly those tapping into health and provenance stories — grass-fed claims and support for British farmers resonate with certain shopper segments. The round also reflects continued early-stage investor interest in foodtech brands that can demonstrate repeat customer behaviour and clear retail routes to market. For other founders in the category, the path from kitchen to shelf remains capital- and operations-intensive; small raises like this are often the bridge between niche retail presence and scale.
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