10 Best Women-Owned Food & Drink Brands

To celebrate International Women’s Day this year — and also, just because — we felt it only right to spotlight some of the coolest food brands and businesses headed up by some of the coolest women in the UK right now. From reusable bottles designed solely to house your favourite bottle of sauv to crazy condiments that fight food waste and drop-dead gorgeous grazing boards, here’s 10 of the best women-owned food brands for 2023.

Picture the scene: it’s a balmy day with blue skies and little to no clouds, a few of your best mates have organised a last-minute soirée in a park close by, and they’ve looked to you to bring the booze. Next thing you know, you’re knocking back bottles of lukewarm vino. A cataclysmic turn of events. Not exactly the dandy date you were hoping for while basking in the lunchtime sun, and certainly not the accompanying tepid beverage to ease you through. At this point, it’s safe to say things are feeling a bit lackluster. The solution? Lucy Hitchcock. Well, not Lucy Hitchcock directly. But the following product she came up with: The Partner in Wine Bottle. A reusable bottle designed precisely for moments like this. Saving you the torture of guzzling down lukewarm wine, these bottles hold an entire bottle of wine (yes — the whole 750ml), keep your wine chilled for up to 24 hours and make the ultimate al fresco accessory. And you guessed it, they came into existence back in 2020 during Lockdown, when Lucy experienced a light-bulb moment when sloshing down some warm rosé.

Brilliant brand name aside, Rubies in the Rubble is an award-winning, sustainable food brand known for its cracking selection of condiments. From Tomato Ketchup to Plant-Based Chilli Mayo, Pear & Fig Relish to Banana Ketchup, owner Jenny Costa looks to rescue otherwise abandoned, but completely edible produce in a bid to help fight food waste and incite sustainability in food. And she’s doing a dream job!

We have a lot of time for statement tableware here at Mob. And Vassielle — French for ‘dishes’ — led by fashion-turned-tableware designer, Léa Zana, is right up our street. Think distinctive jugs, quirky dinner plates and gorgeous oil dispensers. The type that you would pull out when hosting a dinner party and feel like impressing (and let me tell you, these will impress alright). Designed by Léa in London, and then handmade in Spain by two local artisans; a husband and wife duo, each piece is intricately hand painted to create the most sophisticated collection of interchangeable, playful tableware.

Headed up by cousins Amanda and Eve, Cupple — cup and bottle merged — is an online shop which sells reusable, eco-friendly water bottles and insulated drinks cups. The difference? They come as one in a unique 2-in-1 design. Oh, how we love a space-saving contraption which hydrates *and* fuels our caffeine addiction. Available in a parade of muted, sophisticated colourways (hello Purple Grape and Midnight Blue), the bottles are hailed as “a new generation of reusables.” And that, they really are.

London-based and launched by Helen Wang, Abakus Foods is all about making healthy eating fun. We’re talking about actually tasty snacks here made from actually healthy ingredients. See the brand’s Seaweed Crisps, Crunchy Edamame Beans, Red Dates and more. Find them stocked all over London.

Haven’t you heard? Sobriety is officially cool (not that it never was). The UK has seen an astonishing increase in sober drinkers, and with non-alc options like Caleño out there, there’s no wonder why there’s been such a surge in the sober curious. Ellie Webb, the brains behind Caleño, launched the alcohol-free spirit a few years back after working in the alcohol industry for years prior. She found herself craving something booze-free that would live up to the taste and feeling of drinking something with an alcohol percentage. Lo and behold, the making of Caleño. Available in two flavours: Light & Zesty, and Dark & Spicy, the non-alcoholic spirits are inspired by Ellie’s travels through Colombia and take on a tropical flavour profile with hints of either pineapple, lemon peel, and Colombian Inca Berry or pineapple, coconut, ginger, vanilla, kola nut and lime.

Hailed as the UK’s first sustainable takeaway, DabbaDrop is all about delivering zero-waste, guilt-free, plant-based dinners, but without making them feel like a load of effort. Launched in 2018 and first operating in East London, the vegan subscription service now deliver to over 50 postcodes across the London, and is proud to be the city’s first plastic and emissions free takeaway. Round of applause please, Mob. Each delivery comes housed in reusable, stainless steel tiffin tins, aptly named ‘Dabbas,’ allowing DabbaDrop to save an estimated 150,000 plastic containers from landfill, along with 2,500kg of food waste.

Graze & Gorge is a creative catering biz based in the North East dedicated to creating the most dazzling grazing tables. We’re talking full-styled, bespoke set-ups bursting with fresh produce. Think cheese, charcuterie, antipasti, crudites, crackers, freshly-baked breads and more. Founded by food and drink writer, Millicia West, Graze & Gorge aim to bring the “wow” factor to every event they cater for, using fresh foliage and custom-made wooden platters to adorn each display.

With 18 locations across the UK, Mowgli has come a long way since its inception in Liverpool back in 2014. Founder Nisha Katona, a former full-time barrister, decided she wanted to open an eatery that served the type of food Indians would eat at home and on their streets. Recognised for offering a handpicked selection of market street dishes, that come out as and when they’re ready, the success of the restaurant sparked so much interest that Nisha published her first cookbook in 2015 “Pimp My Rice,” followed by “The Spice Tree” in 2017 and a trio of Mowgli cookbooks from 2018. Since then, she’s made appearances on Sunday Brunch, My Kitchen Rules, The Kitchen Cabinet and more.

Born in 2015 as part of Rose Grimond’s plans to diversify her family farm, Nettlebed Creamery is best known for producing organic, artisan award-winning cheese, side-by-side with delicious milk, kefir, cream and ice cream. And that’s not all – there’s even an in-person shop called The Cheese Shed, where you can visit and retrieve the creamery’s own organic produce, along with a bunch of thoughtfully-sourced breads, eggs, honey, pickles, kimchi and more.