westbrooke and flywheel partners announce the sale of minority stake in natural innovations

We are pleased to announce the sale of a minority stake in Natural Innovations (formerly Freshcut Foods), a UK leader in plant-led ingredient solutions, to Solina, a leading global food ingredients company. This transaction was completed in partnership with Flywheel Partners, our long-standing investment partner.

Founded more than twenty years ago, Natural Innovations has built a differentiated position in the UK market by combining chef-led innovation, advanced vegetable processing capabilities and close customer collaboration. The company develops bespoke vegetable ingredients such as roasted, blanched or char-grilled vegetables and culinary inspired components for foodservice, food manufacturing and meal kit applications, and is recognised for its strong focus on quality, innovation and sustainability.

Since our investment in 2023, we have worked closely with Flywheel to implement an investment-led growth strategy, leveraging Westbrooke’s strategic framework and process. This has included significant investment into brand, capacity, product expansion, customer development, and operational efficiency. As a result, Natural Innovations has further consolidated its leadership position in the UK market, supplying over 300 bespoke ingredients to a diverse portfolio of global food brands, foodservice operators, manufacturers, and meal box providers.

The partnership with Solina marks an important milestone for Natural Innovations, enabling the business to accelerate its innovation agenda and expand its international reach. Solina’s scale, industrial expertise, and global footprint will add significant value as Natural Innovations continues its growth journey.

Avital Lobel, Managing Partner at Flywheel Partners, added: “Natural Innovations has built a strong and differentiated platform at the intersection of culinary creativity, R&D and operational excellence. With Solina joining as a strategic partner, the company is ideally positioned to accelerate growth while staying true to its culture and values. As a committed partner to Natural Innovations, we are pleased to continue to support the company in the next phase of growth and it has been of great value to have Westbrooke as a co-investment partner with us on this journey.”

Rob Grieve, Head of Private Equity UK at Westbrooke, commented: “We look forward to continuing to support Natural Innovations as they enter this new phase of growth. The management team has built a world-class business with a clear vision for expansion, and we are confident that, together with Flywheel and Solina, they will unlock further opportunities in the market.”

Matt Wood, CEO of Natural Innovations, added: “Since acquiring Natural Innovations, Flywheel have been an exceptional partner for our business. They have provided us clear strategic direction and have closely supported the management team in the execution of our plan. Partnering with Solina marks an important milestone for Natural Innovations. We share a common focus on chef-led innovation, technical excellence, and close customer collaboration. With Solina’s industrial expertise and international footprint, we will be well positioned to accelerate our innovation roadmap and support our customers’ evolving needs. We look forward to unlocking further growth opportunities with the support of both Flywheel and Solina.”

Anthony Francheterre, CEO of Solina, said: “This minority investment is a strategic step in Solina’s journey to strengthen our tailor-made vegetable solutions platform. Natural Innovations brings a unique combination of culinary expertise, innovation mindset and vegetable ingredients capabilities that strongly complement Solina’s portfolio. With our scale and footprint, we will support the Natural Innovations team in fully realising their potential, while preserving what makes the company unique. We have been very impressed by the business that Flywheel Partners and the management team have built, and look forward to partnering with them in the next phase of the journey.”

The financial terms of the transaction will not be disclosed.