A CHESTER health food business has been named among the most innovative new businesses in the UK.

Bio&Me offer a range of granolas, porridges and live yoghurts designed to ensure good gut health and the up and coming brand has now been recognised by the Startups 100 as one of the most impressive emerging brands in the country.

Run by the UK’s most established website for entrepreneurs, Startups.co.uk, the Startups 100 offers a showcase of new businesses that demonstrate innovation, solid financials, opportunity in their market, a great concept, and a strong customer base or following. Chester-based Bio&Me ranked 18th within the latest 100 list.

Based on Dr Megan Rossi's scientific research, the business believes that people and microbes thrive on variety and deliciously good food. Co-founders, Jon Walsh and Dr Megan Rossi, also known as The Gut Health Doctor, joined forces in 2019, and the Chester-based business enjoyed significant growth from the get-go. Its products are now stocked in major retailers nationwide including Asda, Boots, Holland & Barrett, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose.

The B Corp certified business employs 12 staff and counts England captain Harry Kane as an investor. Now the UK’s leading gut health food brand, with £10 million retail sales in 2023, the brand’s meteoric rise shows how gut health is fast becoming a new lifestyle approach.

Jon Walsh, Co-Founder and CEO at Bio&Me, said: "What a great way to kick off 2024; we are absolutely delighted to have made it into the Startups 100. The demand for credible ‘good for you’ gut health products continues to grow as more consumers reap the benefits of good gut health.

We delivered a record 2023 with revenues more than doubling versus 2022, and we're now seeing another record January sales as well. Bio&Me has had amazing support from retailer buyers across the board, as well as from a number of key investors, and we are incredibly grateful to them all for helping get the business to where it is today."

Dr Megan Rossi, Co-Founder at Bio&Me, said: "As a dietitian and a scientist I’m passionate about educating consumers on the importance of looking after their gut health. I was inspired to start Bio&Me to help people discover that they don’t have to sacrifice on taste to look after their gut health: it can be deliciously easy. 2023 was our most successful year to date, and we couldn’t have achieved it without the support from our fantastic team, partners and our Bio&Me customers! I can’t wait to see where 2024 takes us."

Managing Editor of Startups.co.uk, Richard Parris, comments: "The ingenuity and innovation of the brands featuring in our annual Startups 100 index never ceases to amaze, and this year is no exception. Despite the crises of the past couple of years, we’ve seen some incredible businesses from every corner of the UK in our rankings. They may be tackling different challenges to one another, but there’s a shared mood of opportunity and an optimism for the year ahead that’s invigorating to see as we begin 2024."