Metcalfe’s Food Company was a privately owned food business set up in 2010 by

Julian Metcalfe Julian Edward Metcalfe OBE (born 14 December 1959) is a British entrepreneur and founder of food retailers Itsu, and Metcalfe's Food Company. According to the ''Sunday Times Rich List'' in 2019, Metcalfe is worth £215 million, an increase of ...

, the founder of the sandwich chain

Pret A Manger Pret A Manger (''prêt à manger'' is French for ''ready to eat'') is an international sandwich shop franchise chain based in the United Kingdom, popularly referred to as Pret, founded in 1983. As of December 2022, Pret had 434 shops in the UK ...

and Robert Jakobi. Metcalfe’s Food Company sold products under two brands Metcalfes Skinny and itsu grocery. The company enjoyed a compound annual growth rate of over 200% in revenues between 2011 and 2014. In February 2014 the company had forecast to achieve £50 Million in sales within the next 3 years. As of December 2014, Metcalfe's Food Company were the fastest-growing, privately owned food and drink company in the UK.

Key people

Robert Jakobi was the Co-Owner and Managing Director of Metcalfe’s Food Company. He played a key role in the evolution of the business. Previously, an investment banker, Jakobi introduced chocolate covered edamame to the UK market in 2010 and sold them initially under his own ‘Pod bites’ brand in high-end stores such as Harvey Nichols and Selfridges. Convinced they had a lively commercial future, he sought a bigger platform for the product and after meeting Julian Metcalfe agreed to merge ‘Pod bites’ into Metcalfe’s Food Company and become the Managing Director in October 2010. The chocolate covered edamame are still one of the key products in the itsu roceryrange.

Split

In May 2015 the company announced it would split the two brands into two. itsu grocery would become a core part of the

Itsu Itsu is a British chain of East Asian-inspired fast food shops and restaurants and a grocery company.Moules, Jonathan"Itsu founder nurtures a new generation" ''Financial Times'', London, 21 January 2014. Retrieved on 21 January 2014. The chain ...

business and Metcalfes Skinny would become a standalone business.

Metcalfes skinny

In January 2016

Diamond Foods Diamond Foods was an American packaged food company based in San Francisco, that marketed nuts (particularly walnuts and almonds) and other snack foods. Diamond Foods was acquired by Snyder's-Lance in 2016, and as of 2018, Campbell Soup Company ...

acquired a minority stake in Metcalfes Skinny. The investment helped to maximise the growth potential of the brand in the UK and Europe. In September 2016 the new owner of Kettle Foods Snyder's-Lance, Inc. acquired the remainder of the business.

Awards

In December 2013, Metcalfe's Food Company were featured as one of ten ‘Ones to Watch’ in the

Sunday Times Fast Track 100 The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 was an annual league table published in association with ''The Sunday Times'' newspaper in the UK. It ranks Britain's 100 private companies with the fastest-growing sales over the last three years. It is published ...

. The Fast Track 100 ranks the fastest growing privately owned companies in the UK. In April 2014, Robert Jakobi along with Julian Metcalfe were named as London & South finalists for the 2014

Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award The EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards previously Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards is an award sponsored by Ernst & Young in recognition of entrepreneurship. Founded in 1986 in Milwaukee as a single award, as of 2016 twenty-five pro ...

. The award is considered one of the world’s most prestigious business awards and is held in more than 145 cities and in more than 60 countries worldwide. In May 2014, Metcalfe’s Food Company were announced as one of the winners of The Santander Breakthrough 50 Awards. The awards celebrate the UK’s top 50 most exciting fast-growth companies. In December 2014, Metcalfe’s Food Company were ranked at number 4 in the

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite news, url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1c5e2dc4-81be-11e3-a600-00144feab7de.html/, title=Itsu founder nurtures a new generation, newspaper=

The Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nikk ...

, date=2014-01-21 , accessdate= 2014-09-01 {{cite web, url= http://www.fasttrack.co.uk/company_profile/metcalfes-food-company/ , title= Fast Track 100 , publisher=Fast Track 100 , date= , accessdate=2017-06-08 {{cite news, url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/businessclub/10658198/Popcorn-maker-tastes-explosive-growth.html , title= Popcorn maker tastes explosive growth , newspaper=

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

, date=2014-02-24 , accessdate= 2014-09-01 {{cite web, url= http://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/Manufacturing/Metcalfe-s-reaches-fourth-on-Sunday-Times-Fast-Track-list , title= Metcalfe’s is the fastest growing private food and drink firm , publisher=Food Manufacture , date=2014-12-08 , accessdate=2017-06-08 {{cite news, url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/cinemagoers-snap-up-snack-beans-6787332.html , title=Cinema-goers snap up snack beans , work=

The Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

, date=2010-03-18 , accessdate= 2017-06-08 {{cite web, url=http://thestartupmagazine.co.uk/robert-jakobi-founder-metcalfes-food-talks-startup-magazine/#sthash.blkzoYYs.dpbs , title= Robert Jakobi MD of Metcalfe’s Food talks to The Startup Magazine , publisher=The Startup Magazine , date= , accessdate=2017-06-08 {{cite web, url=https://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/globenewswire/6118718.htm , title=Diamond Foods Announces Acquisition of a Minority Interest in Metcalfe’s skinny Ltd , publisher=CNN Money , date=2016-01-11 , accessdate=2017-06-08 {{dead link, date=June 2017 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes {{cite web , url= https://finance.yahoo.com/news/snacking-greats-metcalfes-skinny-kettle-121000024.html , title= Snacking Greats Metcalfe’s Skinny and KETTLE Chips Join Forces In Partnership Deal , publisher= Yahoo Finance , date= 2016-01-11 , accessdate= 2017-06-08 , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160823025826/http://finance.yahoo.com/news/snacking-greats-metcalfes-skinny-kettle-121000024.html# , archive-date= 23 August 2016 , url-status= dead , df= dmy-all {{cite web , url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/snyders-lance-inc-acquires-remaining-110000596.html , title=Snyder’s-Lance, Inc. Acquires Remaining Interest in Metcalfe’s skinny Limited , publisher=Yahoo Finance , date=2016-09-01 , accessdate=2017-06-08 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902181533/https://finance.yahoo.com/news/snyders-lance-inc-acquires-remaining-110000596.html# , archive-date=2 September 2017 , url-status=dead , df=dmy-all {{cite web, url=http://www.fasttrack.co.uk/fasttrack/leagues/ft100onestowatch.html , title=Fast Tracks Ones to Watch , publisher=Fast Track , accessdate=2017-06-08 , url-status=dead , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322042421/http://www.fasttrack.co.uk/fasttrack/leagues/ft100onestowatch.html , archivedate=22 March 2016 {{cite web, url=http://www.fasttrack.co.uk/fasttrack/leagues/ft100programme.html , title=Fast Track 100 , publisher=Fast Track 100 , accessdate=2017-06-08 , url-status=dead , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525034906/http://www.fasttrack.co.uk/fasttrack/leagues/ft100programme.html , archivedate=25 May 2011 {{cite web , url=http://www.ey.com/UK/en/Newsroom/News-releases/14-04-24---London-and-South-Entrepreneur-of-the-year-finalists-announced , title=Dynamic London and South entrepreneurs create 24,000 jobs and turn over £4.6 million , publisher=Ernst & Young , date=2014-04-24 , accessdate=2017-06-08 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303225219/http://www.ey.com/UK/en/Newsroom/News-releases/14-04-24---London-and-South-Entrepreneur-of-the-year-finalists-announced# , archive-date=3 March 2016 , url-status=dead , df=dmy-all {{cite web, url= http://www.ey.com/UK/en/About-us/Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneur-Of-The-Year/UK_EOY_Home , title= EY Entrepreneur of the Year , publisher= Ernst & Young , date= , accessdate=2017-06-08 {{cite web, url=http://breakthrough50.smarta.com/metcalfes-food-company/ , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813050406/http://breakthrough50.smarta.com/metcalfes-food-company/ , url-status=dead , archive-date=2014-08-13 , title=Metcalfe's Food Company Breakthrough 50 Awards , publisher=Breakthrough 50 , accessdate=2017-06-08 {{cite web, url=http://www.fasttrack.co.uk/fasttrack/leagues/dbfastDetails.asp?siteID=1&compID=3863&yr=2014 , title=Fast Track 100 , publisher=Fast Track 100 , accessdate=2017-06-08 , url-status=dead , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304002013/http://www.fasttrack.co.uk/fasttrack/leagues/dbfastDetails.asp?siteID=1&compID=3863&yr=2014 , archivedate=4 March 2016 Snack food manufacturers of the United Kingdom Food and drink companies established in 2010 Food and drink companies disestablished in 2016 2010 establishments in England 2016 disestablishments in England