Healthier biscuit challenger Good Guys Bakehouse has raised £550k from a number of industry heavyweights as it looks to build brand awareness and accelerate a retail rollout.
Angel investors backing the business include former Pladis UK boss Nick Bunker, David Bell, currently chairman of Hackney Gelato and a former director at Mars UK and Young’s Seafood, and former Graze COO Tom Carroll, who was also CEO at British Corner Shop.
Founded by ex-United Biscuits general manager Steve Monk in 2021, Good Guys rolled out a range of wafer-based biscuit melts into Sainsbury’s and Ocado in January last year.
The business – which has been shortlisted for ‘Startup of the Year’ at The Grocer Gold Awards 2024 – said it was bringing new shoppers to the savoury biscuits aisle and driving incremental category growth.
The new funding will be used to ramp up marketing and to support new listings, as well as expanding the team and investing in NPD.
“Over the past year, we have successfully disrupted an ageing savoury biscuits category, securing major listings with Sainsbury’s and Ocado and attracting younger, health-conscious shoppers to the aisle,” Monk said.
“There’s a clear consumer appetite for tastier and healthier savoury snack biscuits, baked with more cheese than the leading cheese biscuits brand but with only five calories per biscuit.
“Now, with a successful investment round complete, we are in a strong position to scale up our grocery presence in the UK, driving distribution and opening up new listings. In addition, we’ll be ramping up our marketing efforts, building the team and growing our product range as we head into the second half of 2024.”
As well as taking part in the round, Bunker, who is also chairman of the food distributors board at Spar, has joined Good Guys as a non-executive director.
“Over the course of my career I’ve been involved with a number of brands that have demonstrated genuine potential to go the distance,” he added. “Good Guys is one of them.
“This raise is a significant milestone in the brand’s mission to shake up the savoury biscuits category, and with Steve at the helm, we are on course to make Good Guys Bakehouse a household name in the UK and beyond.”
Good Guys claims its melts contain 50% less fat than regular savoury biscuits and are also made using “real ingredients”, without being sprayed with flavourings or extra oils.
“As a brand, we have a unique opportunity to reinvigorate the savoury biscuits category with a new and exciting product proposition, and with the backing of high-calibre industry investors, we are perfectly poised to do this,” Monk said.
No comments yet