A former chef who started melting plastic in a toastie maker inside his parents’ shed just landed £765,000 in venture capital funding. Allday Goods, the East London knife brand known for sold-out drops and 500-person queues, is gearing up to become a household name.
From a Garden Shed to a Cult Kitchen Brand
5 Hugo Worsley moved back in with his parents in Norfolk, England during lockdown and set up a workshop in their garden shed. He pulled out his old toastie machine from his restaurant days and started melting plastic milk bottle lids to create knife handles. 5 He spent months researching forges all over Japan and located a fourth-generation forge in Sakai that he wanted to work with. 16 The blacksmith, Yoshikazu, found the recycling element appealing despite the unorthodoxy of using plastic handles for forged knives.
5To test the market, Worsley set up an Instagram account and announced the release of a small batch of 100 knives. They sold out in 76 seconds.
5 Each batch started selling out faster than the last, so he launched a Kickstarter in April 2022. It hit the funding target in three hours and ended up raising 160% of the initial goal.
Allday Goods recycled plastic kitchen knife handles funding round 2026
What the £765K Funding Round Looks Like
1 The East London brand has raised nearly £765,000 to scale with new product releases and expand into new markets. 3 The round was led by FIGR Ventures, with participation from Anotherway Ventures, Machroes Holdings (the family office of Lord Mervyn Davies), and a group of angel investors, including reinvestment from existing backer Tom Gozney of Gozney Pizza Ovens.
Here is a quick breakdown of the key investors:
| Investor | Type |
|---|---|
| FIGR Ventures | Lead investor, early-stage VC |
| Anotherway Ventures | Venture fund |
| Machroes Holdings | Family office of Lord Mervyn Davies |
| Tom Gozney (Gozney Pizza Ovens) | Existing backer, angel investor |
| Additional angel investors | Undisclosed |
3 The board of Allday Goods, previously consisting of founder Hugo Worsley and Gozney, is now joined by FIGR. 20 FIGR exclusively invests in businesses with the potential to drive positive environmental or social changes in consumer behaviour. 24 The fund plans to make five to six investments each year and typically invests ticket sizes of £200K to £300K, providing patient capital to support long-term change.
2Allday Goods is already profitable with minimal external investment to date, challenging the status quo in the venture capital space.
The Knives Behind the Hype
So what makes these knives different from everything else in your kitchen drawer?
9 The handles are made out of plastic heading to landfill. The plastic is collected, washed, shredded and melted into the handle shape. As a result, every handle has a different pattern, telling a different story. 3 The kitchen knives are manufactured in Solingen (Germany), Somerset (UK), Sakai (Japan) and Sheffield (UK). 1 The company uses three different steel types for its three knife ranges: X50CrMoV15 stainless steel for the everyday range, 52100 high-carbon steel from Sheffield for the forged range, and Aogami 2 blue paper steel from Japan, which is recognized as one of the best steels in the world. 9 The brand wants to make beautiful knives accessible for the home cook. They work towards a tighter margin because they are passionate about quality products at a more affordable price point. 6 All knives are made to order, so customers can choose the color of their handles. Each one is unique. That is not a marketing line. It is a physical fact of working with recycled plastic.
Collaborations That Built the Brand
Allday Goods did not grow through paid ads or influencer deals. It grew through genuine community and clever brand partnerships.
5 For the second batch in June 2021, Abel and Cole reached out asking if Worsley would collaborate and turn their broken plastic milk bottles into handles. 5 In August 2021, as part of Batch 3, he camped off the northwest coast of Scotland to clean beaches and collect old fishing nets for the next batch of handles. 13 He later collaborated with Paul Smith on limited-edition steak knives made entirely from recycled plastic sourced from Paul Smith’s offices. 8 For the Maldon collaboration, Allday used Maldon Sea Salt’s large green tubs to create a best-selling colourway.
The full list of major collaborations includes:
- Ottolenghi
- Soho House
- Maldon Salt
- Kerrygold
- Paul Smith
- Abel and Cole
7 The brand has also been featured in prominent publications including GQ, Esquire, Wallpaper and Hypebeast.
“It’s a small product, but it has a really big powerful voice and message. I want people to see them and ask and talk about them.” 13That is how Hugo Worsley describes the knives as a conversation starter.
Why VCs Are Betting on a Knife Company in 2026
Consumer hardware is not exactly where most investors are putting their money right now. Tech, AI and SaaS dominate the headlines. So why did FIGR Ventures back a kitchen knife brand?
1 According to FIGR, in Allday Goods they observed a founder-led brand developed through material experimentation rather than slide decks. FIGR aims to recognize and support what is already working and does not plan to redirect the brand. 2 Ellie Craig, Portfolio Director at FIGR Ventures, said she has followed Allday for years. “Drops selling out in seconds and a community that can’t stop talking about the brand, this is what a cult following looks like.”
27Allday Goods now has over 81,000 followers on Instagram and holds B Corp certification. 7Reports of 500-person queues at pop-ups and 100-piece runs selling out in 76 seconds paint a picture of genuine demand that most startups would envy.
Hugo Worsley himself called the raise “a huge moment” for the team. 3“We’ve built Allday slowly and intentionally over the past few years, so having people we genuinely admire backing the next chapter feels incredibly special.”
In a world drowning in plastic waste and mass-produced kitchen tools, Allday Goods is proving something simple but powerful: people care about where their stuff comes from. They want beauty, craft and purpose in one package. Hugo Worsley started this journey with a broken toastie maker and a pile of plastic lids. Now he has the backing, the team and the community to make sure those colourful handles end up in kitchens everywhere. If this story inspires you, drop a comment below and share your thoughts on sustainable brands making a real difference.
