Founded in 2011 by entrepreneur and restaurateur Alex Head, Social Pantry positions itself as an ethical food business; with a focus on sustainability and social enterprise, and a client list that includes Harvey Nichols, Jo Malone and Browns.
Since 2015, Head has been an ambassador for the Key4Life charity, which helps rehabilitate and support young ex-offenders in order to break the cycle of re-offending.
At present 10% of Social Pantry’s workforce is made up of former offenders, and Head says the investment will allow the company to offer new employment opportunities and training through the expansion of its catering and events business.
“I founded Social Pantry eight years ago after seeing a gap in the market for exciting, innovative and good quality event catering,” she says.
“Throughout our journey I have worked hard to ensure the same philosophies we started with are still instilled in the business today, and I am honoured to work with some incredible individuals, including many, who after difficult starts, could have gone on to lead very different lives.
“This investment will allow us to further realise our ambitions, both in terms of growing the business to reach new markets, but also, with helping more people than ever turn their lives around through work opportunities in the hospitality industry.”
Head also plans to use part of the investment to expand the business into more locations.
Currently Social Pantry operates out of several London locations including the Social Pantry Café in Battersea, Crane’s Kitchen in Peckham and Soane’s Kitchen at Pitzhanger Manor in Ealing.