At a time of huge growth in consumer demand for non-soya, sustainable meat substitutes, Norfolk company Novo Farina Ltd has announced that it has raised in excess of £3 million from private investors to fund its next stage of development.

The round has been led by billionaire Richard Koch, the author and investor behind many huge venture successes, including Filofax, Belgo, Plymouth Gin, Betfair, Fanduel, and Auto1. He said “I am delighted to invest in Novo Farina, which has a unique series of healthy and ecologically sound food products and which is a terrific pioneer and star business.”

Novo Farina Ltd uses whole yellow peas to produce sustainable, highly nutritious and award-winning replacements for meat and wheat-based ingredients to serve the food manufacturing industry, food services and retail. Dr Chris Harrison, Managing Director, commented “We are absolutely delighted that investor confidence in Novo Farina means that we can increase production and relocate to bigger and better premises giving us room for future expansion to keep up with the demand for our unique pea flour and protein products.”

Lead product, Novo-Tex^TM is a texturised pea protein developed as a meat substitute for plant-based burgers, sausages and other products. Other Novo Farina products include Pea Flour and Pea Crumb. All products are gluten-free and vegan. Novo Farina aims to manage its whole process “from farm-to-flour”, where possible sourcing seed from UK suppliers, growing its crop in Norfolk and Suffolk and processing at its factory in Norwich.

In 2020 Novo Farina launched its first retail product, Simpleas Snacks, which are stocked by WHSmith, East of England Co-op, Amazon and independent retailers.