Piccolo raises funds to ‘Brexit-proof’ its expansion
PICCOLO, the organic baby food firm backed by Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith, has raised fresh finance to fund its expansion outside of Britain and Europe.
Gazzoli with Bake Off’s Leith who got involved early
The firm says that it has raised £500,000 from Singapore-based venture capital investor Deepak Shahdadpuri, founder of DSG Consumer Partners.
His investment takes the total raised by Piccolo to date to £1.5million. Founder Cat Gazzoli is looking to “Brexit-proof” the business by expanding in Asia, particularly China, Korea and Singapore, and turned to King’s College-educated Shahdadpuri because of his experience in growing consumer brands in the region.
Aside from Leith, who was one of Piccolo’s earliest investors, its backers include former Pizza Express chief executive Mark Angela and Green & Black’s co-founder Craig Sams.
The firm says that it has raised £500,000
Launched in April 2016, Piccolo has grown rapidly after convincing supermarket giants Asda, Morrisons and Waitrose to stock its baby foods, which are based on the healthy Mediterranean diet.
It has also benefited from its partnership with the National Childbirth Trust, the UK’s largest charity for parents.
It has a turnover of £3million and is looking to double in size next year.