John Stapleton (entrepreneur)

John Bernard Stapleton (born October 1964) is an entrepreneur, angel investor and co-founder of The New Covent Garden Soup Co.[1][2][3]

John Stapleton
Born
John Bernard Stapleton

October 1964 (age 57)
EducationUniversity College Dublin
Occupation
  • Entrepreneur
  • Angel investor
Known forFounder of The New Covent Garden Soup Co

Early life and education

Stapleton is from County Roscommon, Ireland.[4]

He has a degree in industrial microbiology from University College Dublin and a master’s degree in food science from Reading University.[5]

Career

In 1987, Stapleton co-founded fresh soup company New Covent Garden Soup Co with stockbroker Andrew Palmer. The company manufactured the first fresh soups to be sold from the chilled cabinet of stores, during a time when soup was only available in tins or packets.[1][4]

Stapleton and Palmer reached a deal with British supermarket chain Waitrose, which became the first major retailer to stock the product. The Waitrose deal allowed them to access around £2 million in venture capital, which was used to build a factory production line suitable for creating fresh soup with a long shelf life.[4]

In 1998, the pair sold the New Covent Garden Soup Co to food company Daniels for £22 million.[6][7]

In the same year, Stapleton co-founded and became Chief Executive of Glencoe Foods to bring the fresh soup concept to the United States. Stapleton considers this move a ‘failure’ as the company struggled to crack the US market.[8][2]

In 2005, Stapleton co-founded Little Dish, a chilled food brand for toddlers, with Hillary Graves.[5][2][7]

In 2017, Stapleton and Graves sold Little Dish to US investment firm Profile Capital for £17 million.[9][8][10]

Stapleton also co-founded Mission Ventures, a London-based venture capital firm that invests in food & drink brands.[5][11][12]

References
  1. "John Stapleton | British Small Business Awards". britishsmallbusinessawards.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  2. Khan, Presented by Coco; Slaney, produced by Rowan (2017-02-24). "'Failure makes you more humble' – Confessions of a Small Business". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  3. "John Bernard STAPLETON - Personal Appointments (free information from Companies House)". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  4. Coyle, Dominic. "John Stapleton: Food king's recipe for success". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  5. "John Stapleton". Smith & Williamson. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  6. Kelly, Liam. "Q&A with angel investor John Stapleton". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  7. O’Connell, Sandra. "How I made it: John Stapleton". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  8. foodmanufacture.co.uk. "Start-up accelerator to fund projects that tackle childhood obesity". foodmanufacture.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  9. "John Stapleton". World Finance Council. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  10. Coyle, Dominic. "Profile Capital acquires baby food group Little Dish in £17m deal". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  11. Cherubini, Elena. "Warburtons partners with Mission Ventures to support next generation of baking businesses". The Grocer. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  12. "Mission Ventures - Our team".
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