New disruptive plant-based Clean Kitchen Club valued at £7.5m after £1.4m seed round with UK expansion plans

• Ex-chairman of Quorn and fitness influencer & businesswoman Grace Beverley back the business
• Clean Kitchen Club plans to disrupt plant-based food industry by opening 40 new UK sites and launching a range of retail products 
• Clean Kitchen Club sold over 50,000 burgers in its first year and is growing 30% month-on-month as the brand takes fully sustainable, plant-based food and carbon neutral packaging to the mainstream

Made in Chelsea’s Verity Bowditch and former YouTube personality Mikey Pearce have raised £1.4 million in a seed round, with a £7.5 million valuation to expand the new disruptive plant-based food brand, Clean Kitchen Club.

The lead investors in the round include Clive Sharpe, ex-chairman of Quorn, and Grace Beverley, fitness influencer and business owner. Beverley is chief executive of Shreddy, a fitness and recipes app, and Tala, a sustainable activewear brand, which, since launching in 2019, has reached more than £10 million worth of sales.

The funding and valuation, achieved in less than 12 months since launch, will enable Clean Kitchen Club to continue expanding with the aim of opening up to 40 new sites across the UK in the next few years. The fast-growing plant-based QSR chain operates out of five sites in London, most recently opening its latest two-level main outlet in Camden in July. 

Clean Kitchen Club will be opening a larger flagship store in Soho early next year plus four other grab-and-go sites in London next year. The funding will also enable Clean Kitchen Club to launch a range of retail products, starting with Clean canned coffees and meat substitute products which will be available to purchase in grocery retailers, at the Clean Kitchen sites, and via food delivery services.

Pearce launched Clean Kitchen Club in summer 2020 against the backdrop of a global pandemic and after experiencing first-hand how plant-based food benefited his lifestyle. This experience ignited Pearce’s passion to bring good quality, plant-based food to the mainstream. After launching in a tiny kitchen in Brighton, Clean Kitchen Club quickly gained local attention for being the only vegan burger brand in Brighton at the time, and saw Pearce expand the business to London with Made in Chelsea star and biomedical science graduate Verity Bowditch, as co-founder. 

As a sustainable QSR brand, Clean Kitchen Club aims to take plant-based food to the mainstream, blending outstanding food with eco-friendly ingredients and carbon neutral packaging. The company turned over its first million in just eight months and continues to grow every day, taking over 2,000 orders daily and growing over 30% month-on-month. Clean Kitchen Club sold 50,000 burgers in its first year – with hero items in an ever-expanding menu that includes everything from its classic clean burgers, vegan bacon mac n cheese, chicken katsu bowls, no meat meatballs, salads, wraps and desserts.

Clean Kitchen Club has also grown to cater for a range of firms including Dior and Tenzing, as it encourages businesses to become more sustainable in their approach.

Mikey Pearce, Co-Founder and CEO of Clean Kitchen Club, commented: “I’m incredibly proud of the team for signing our first investment round and seeing the phenomenal growth Clean Kitchen Club is experiencing every day. The idea for Clean was born from my mother’s vegan bacon sandwich and I decided I needed to create a brand that would provide delicious, accessible plant-based food and bring it to the mainstream. We have big ambitions to be the biggest plant-based food brand in the UK – this is just the start.” 

Verity Bowditch, Co-Founder and Head of Sustainability at Clean Kitchen Club, added: “There’s a clear demand for delicious, sustainable protein alternatives. People are waking up to the impact that meat production is having on the environment and need a clear solution – one that also fits easily into their lifestyle. We provide exactly that. 

Verity continues: “Clean Kitchen Club isn’t just for vegans but anyone looking to lead a more sustainable lifestyle. We have a real possibility to change perceptions of plant-based food and help tackle the climate crisis. The brand has grown exponentially since launch and I can’t wait to continue that growth, continue disrupting the industry and taking plant-based food to the mainstream, with our new investors on boar.

About Clean Kitchen:

Clean Kitchen Club is a new approach to eating delicious plant-based food. Co-founded by Mikey Pearce and Verity Bowditch, Clean Kitchen Club is on a mission to disrupt the plant-based industry as we know it, taking fully sustainable plant-based food and carbon-neutral packaging to the mainstream. 

The company was set up in summer 2020 off the back of the global pandemic in Pearce’s family kitchen in Brighton where it quickly gained local attention for being the only vegan and burger brand in Brighton at the time. Made in Chelsea star and biomedical science graduate Verity Bowditch joined as co-founder and the company is expanding across London. Clean Kitchen Club already holds five sites in London and has multiple new sites in the pipeline. 

Clean Kitchen Club cares for the earth and wants to make it a greener place. Its main priority is reducing food waste. Any food waste from the kitchen is composted and used to fertilise the Clean Allotment where its lettuce is grown. On top of that, the company is on its way to becoming carbon neutral. All packaging is recyclable and carbon neutral already.

Clean Kitchen Club has an ever-expanding menu and hero items include everything from its classic clean burgers, vegan bacon mac n cheese, chicken katsu bowls, no meat meatballs, salads, wraps and desserts.