Ancient + Brave

The mission-driven wellness brand that uses natural ingredients, ancestral wisdom and science-led innovation to create a range of whole-body health supplements to use in your daily rituals.

Invested £7m in 2023

Kate Prince founded Ancient + Brave in 2018 after she started taking collagen and MCT oil to help support her joints and improve her gut health as well as to boost the condition of her hair and skin. She was an early adopter before most people she knew had even heard of these supplements. However, she couldn’t find a brand that had high quality ingredients alongside an ethical and sustainable way of doing things.

Ancient + Brave has since become renowned for its sustainable and pure bovine and marine collagen. Its in-house team of nutritionists have developed award-winning products for a range of health goals. These include menopause, cognitive performance, stress resilience, bone health and injury recovery, gut health and immune support. The brand helps customers create daily self-care rituals, with most mixing the brand’s versatile powders into their regular morning hot drinks.

The business has grown +700% with a forecast turnover of £10m by the end of 2023. Ancient + Brave operates in the fast-growing supplements market, in which collagen alone is worth nearly £1bn in the UK. Growth has accelerated as consumers increasingly look for solutions to help them live healthier and longer lives. The brand, which has attracted such high-profile fans as Davina McCall, Ellie Goulding and Dame Kelly Holmes, is stocked in more than 200 stores across 22 countries, including Selfridges, Harrods and Planet Organic.

The brand, proudly certified B Corp, is one of the highest scoring wellness brands in the world on the B Corp impact assessment. It is committed to 1% to the Planet and is a founding community member of ESGmark and certified Climate Neutral. They live and breathe their purpose and we were impressed by the sustainable practices embedded into business model.

The business has grown to an all-female team of 37, based in East Sussex, with more than 100,000 customers using its products to support their health goals. Kate believes she has attracted customers who had tried other collagen products and been disappointed by the experience, while loving the brand’s look and feel. Customers are proud to display the beautiful jars in their homes rather than hiding it away in the cupboard.

Kate Prince will continue to lead the business as CEO. She will be joined by ex-CEO of Wagamama, Emma Woods, who will be taking on the Chair position alongside her board roles with Huel, Tortilla, and Great Portland Estates.

This is the third investment from our seventh fund, following Rabbie’s and Monica Vinader, and its third in the wellness space, which also includes fellow B Corp brands Neom Organics and Wild Nutrition. We are proud to have now backed six B Corps.

Our investment is a mix of primary (£3m) and secondary shares (£4m). We look forward to supporting the team and helping them bring Ancient + Brave to an even wider audience in the UK and across Europe, as well as develop new products, grow the team and expand the brand’s digital experience and retail channel.

Kate Prince commented: “I launched Ancient + Brave as I felt there was an opportunity in the wellness market to do things differently and I’ve been overwhelmed by the response from our customers. Our amazing team has helped us hit some incredible milestones and the last year has been particularly special. I’ve been impressed by Piper’s experience and expertise in the wellness field and I’m excited to work with them on this next stage of our journey.”