Online cheesemonger and wholesaler Cheesegeek plans to increase sales to supermarkets, food halls and the catering and travel sectors, after being rescued from administration by Scottish company Albex. Investors were left out of pocket following the pre-pack deal in March, after the business ran into cashflow problems. These included entrepreneur Stephen Bartlett, who invested £150k after Cheesegeek founder Edward Hancock successfully pitched on Dragon’s Den. Hancock, who continues as CEO, also raised £421k via crowdfunding in 2023 and invested £720k of his own money in the business.
Scottish food group Albex has a £450m turnover and 11 sites. In 2020 it acquired cheese cutter and packer Tom Walker & Sons in Durham, which supplies supermarkets with cheese selection packs. It will handle fulfilment for Cheesegeek, backed by its distribution network.
This will allow Cheesegeek to concentrate on sales, marketing and branding for its online shop, but also to grow other channels, including supermarkets. A deal to supply Sainsbury’s last year suffered from supply “teething problems” at Christmas, said Hancock, but these had now been resolved by the takeover and it would be “full steam ahead” with 150 stores taking Cheesegeek-branded selection boxes and cheeses.
“Albex has relationships with large retailers that we don’t have, and vice versa,” he said. “We can potentially become a one-stop shop for those that want large-scale, but also high-end speciality cheese.”
He also hopes to grow sales with food halls, after striking a deal to supply Selfridges last September, as well as restaurants that highlight Cheesegeek on the menu. Tom Walker’s cutting and packing capabilities will open up opportunities to supply trains, planes and sporting events.
Hancock, who set up the company in 2017, blamed cashflow issues for the administration. “We’ve always been ambitious and scaled very quickly,” he said. “We tried to do everything ourselves – branding, marketing, sales, dispatch, cutting and portioning, technology. We were juggling a lot of plates and last year a few things went against us. It became a cash situation – we were on the right track but needed more funding.”
In a statement, Albex director Andrew Dalglish said “major investments” were planned for Cheesegeek. “Our funding gives them the stability needed to continue operating and more.”
This article first appeared in the May 2025 issue of Fine Food Digest.
