Strong Roots Financial Model
Hardware/Deep-tech Startup Financials (Free Excel Download)
Strong Roots is an Irish plant-based frozen food brand selling vegetable-forward products (fries, burgers, bites, hash browns) through grocery retailers across Ireland, UK, and the USA.
professionals from Deloitte
Used by professionals from
About this model
Strong Roots is an Irish plant-based frozen-food brand selling vegetable-forward products through grocery retail. It operates across Ireland, the UK, and the US, where retailer distribution, freezer placement, product velocity, and brand awareness are the principal scale levers.
This is a consumer-products model: revenue follows units, price, product mix, and retailer coverage, while margin depends on ingredients, manufacturing, trade spend, frozen logistics, and inventory. International expansion can increase volume but also adds working-capital, distribution, and promotional complexity.
Model units by country, retailer, and SKU, net price, distribution, and repeat velocity. Include COGS, trade spend, frozen freight, inventory, marketing, and overhead. Store rollout, pricing, product mix, gross margin, promotional intensity, inventory turns, and retailer concentration should drive scenarios.
A turnkey financial model
Live formulas, no hardcoded values
Outputs are driven by live formulas, so the workbook updates from its assumptions instead of relying on hardcoded results.
All assumptions in one tab
Inputs are clearly marked in the Assumptions tab and separated from calculations, making it clear what to change and what to leave intact.
Statements always balancing
For integrated-statement models, the balance sheet, cash flow, and supporting schedules tie through properly.
Distinct schedules for clarity
Debt, working capital, taxes, and cash flow can get messy quickly. We group calculations in clear schedules, not across disconnected tabs.
No hidden macros or external links
There are no unexplained external workbook links or macros to undermine auditability or portability.
Changes flow through the model
Update a key driver and see the impact carry through the forecast, financing, and return outputs. We never use hardcoded numbers in formulas.
About Strong Roots
strongroots.com
How to build a detailed financial model for Strong Roots
A complete walkthrough of the business, drivers, and assumptions behind the downloadable Strong Roots model - distilled from its pitch deck and publicly available information.
Product & value proposition
- Frozen plant-based food products targeting the mass consumer, positioned at the intersection of health, sustainability, and convenience.
- Product categories:
- Root vegetable & fries (potato alternative): Sweet potato fries, garlic roasted sweet potato, mixed root vegetable fries, roasted beetroot wedges.
- Burgers, bites & hash browns (meat alternative): Pumpkin & spinach burger, kale & quinoa burger, beetroot & bean burger, cauliflower hash browns, spinach bites, broccoli & purple carrot bites.
- Fruit (ingredient/addition): Ripened avocado halves.
- 11 SKUs at time of deck, targeting expansion to 36 SKUs.
- Clean-label positioning: no artificial colours, flavourings, or GMOs. Gluten-free options.
- Mission: "To provide plant-based, environmentally responsible, positive food choices, for everyone, for now."
Market
- No explicit TAM/SAM/SOM figures stated in the deck.
- Macro tailwinds cited:
- World population expected to reach 10 billion by 2050 (+2 billion over 30 years from ~7.8 billion).
- Red meat consumption per capita grew from 23.1 kg to 43.2 kg (1961–2014); dairy from 75.5 kg to 90.0 kg.
- 42% of shoppers globally think about the environment when buying food.
- 66% of consumers prepared to pay more for products from companies with positive social/environmental impact.
- 70% of consumers globally make dietary choices to help prevent health conditions.
- Google Trends data shows accelerating search interest in "frozen food" and "food waste" 2004–2019, both reaching index peak of 100 by 2019.
- Competitive market: frozen food grocery category; competitors include McCain, Birds Eye, Quorn, Aunt Bessie's, Fry's, Amy's, Linda McCartney's, Goodlife.
Revenue model
- B2B wholesale / trade sales to grocery retailers. No DTC, foodservice, or online-first channel mentioned.
- Retail partners include: Waitrose, Tesco, Sainsbury's, ASDA, Ocado, Morrisons, Lidl, Aldi, Harrods, Dunnes Stores, Co-op (UK/Ireland); Target, Whole Foods Market, Sprouts Farmers Market, Wegmans, The Fresh Market, Central Market, Safeway, Fairway, Lucky, Nugget Markets, Mom's Organic Market, Wakefern Food Corp, Gelson's, Jensen's (USA).
- Revenue is driven by SKU count × retail distribution (number of grocery doors) × velocity (units sold per store per week).
- Grocery customer count growing: 16 → 34.
- SKU count growing: 11 → 36.
- No pricing data (RSP or trade price) disclosed in the deck.
Traction & metrics
- Started with €100,000 of start-up capital.
- Raising €15,000,000.
- Founded 2015; deck dated 2019 - approximately 4 years of operating history.
- Grocery customers: growing from 16 to target of 34.
- SKUs: growing from 11 to target of 36.
- Retail footprint includes 25+ named grocery chains across Ireland, UK, and USA.
- Brand ranked #1 in consumer research (Ireland) across four attributes vs Birds Eye, Quorn, McCain:
- "Offering something different": Strong Roots 39% vs McCain 27%, Quorn 25%, Birds Eye 14%.
- "Health conscious brand": Strong Roots 37% vs Quorn 33%, McCain 29%, Birds Eye 14%.
- "Different to other brands": Strong Roots 35% vs Quorn/McCain both 25%, Birds Eye 14%.
- "More innovative than other brands": Strong Roots 32% vs Quorn 29%, Birds Eye/McCain both 17%.
- Source: Core Research, Pre-Campaign Evaluation 15/12/18, Ireland.
- Awards: multiple Great Taste Awards (2016–2018), multiple Grocer New Product Awards (2017–2018), Nexty Award Winner 2019. First frozen food brand stocked in Harrods (2018).
- No revenue, gross margin, EBITDA, or volume figures disclosed in the deck.
Competition / moat
- Competitive set (UK/Ireland): McCain, Birds Eye, Quorn, Aunt Bessie's, Fry's, Amy's, Linda McCartney's, Goodlife.
- Strong Roots claims to be the only brand in the frozen category that is simultaneously: plant-based (fully vegan), responsible (planet-friendly and sustainable), positive-food (no artificial colours, flavourings, or GMOs), accessible (not niche-only), and innovation-driven. Competitors only partially meet these criteria.
- Consumer brand equity: ranked #1 across differentiation and health perception vs major incumbents in Ireland.
- Founder credentials: 10 years in fresh produce and global crop sourcing + 2 years in creative design/art direction.
- Early mover in plant-based frozen food for the mass market (not niche health food); positioned to capture the mainstream consumer shift.
Team & funding ask / use of funds
- Founder & CEO: Samuel Dennigan. Background: 10 years in fresh produce and global crop sourcing, 2 years in creative design and art direction.
- No other named team members in the deck.
- Funding ask: €15,000,000.
- Use of funds: Not explicitly broken down in deck. Implied purposes from strategy slide: expand grocery customer base (16 → 34), expand SKU range (11 → 36), grow in Ireland/UK/USA markets.
Recommended financial model
- Archetype + why: DTC/wholesale branded CPG P&L (revenue-to-EBITDA 3-statement) - specifically a grocery/retail distribution model. Strong Roots is a pure branded FMCG manufacturer selling to grocery trade. The correct model is a retail P&L: net revenue (gross sales less trade spend/deductions) → gross profit (net revenue less COGS: raw materials, packaging, co-manufacturing/production) → brand investment (A&M/marketing) → overheads → EBITDA → working capital (inventory, trade receivables) → capex (if any owned production). Not SaaS, not marketplace, not subscription.
- Forecast horizon & granularity: 3–5 years, annual (monthly for Year 1 if possible). Given early-stage fundraising context, 5-year P&L sufficient; add quarterly Year 1 if use-of-funds deployment matters.
- Key drivers & assumptions:
- Number of retail grocery customers (doors): 16 → 34; expansion pace.
- Average number of SKUs per account: 11 current range; target 36 SKUs;.
- SKU rollout cadence: 11 → 36 SKUs;.
- US market contribution:.
- Working capital - inventory days:.
- Startup capital deployed: €100,000 historical; new raise €15M; model cash deployment by use of funds over 3 years.
- Scenarios (Base / Bull / Bear - which variables flex):
- Base: Target 34 grocery customers, 15–20 avg SKUs/account, moderate velocity, 40% gross margin.
- Bull: US retail scales faster (Whole Foods, Target national rollout), 36 SKUs achieved in Year 3, gross margin expands with volume to 45%.
- Bear: US entry delayed by 18 months, UK grocery slowdown, gross margin compressed to 33% due to input costs or trade spend pressure.
- Required sheets / outputs:
- Assumptions - all drivers above, by geography (Ireland, UK, USA)
- Revenue build - SKU × accounts × velocity × price, by geography and year
- P&L (IS) - gross sales → trade spend → net revenue → COGS → gross profit → A&M → SG&A → EBITDA
- Balance Sheet - simplified (inventory, receivables, payables, cash, equity)
- Cash Flow - operating CF, use-of-funds deployment, runway
- Use of funds - €15M allocation by category and year
- Sensitivity - gross margin % vs velocity assumptions on EBITDA
Frequently asked
Is the Strong Roots financial model free?+
Yes. The Strong Roots model is a free Excel (.xlsx) download with live formulas. Sign up with your email and the workbook is yours to keep, review, and edit.
What's included in the model?+
A 5-year monthly forecast with P&L, cash flow and runway, valuation (exit multiple plus a DCF cross-check), MOIC/IRR returns, and unit economics, with live formulas throughout.
How was this model built?+
It was built from Strong Roots's pitch deck and publicly available information, then structured to investment-banking standards as a fully editable Excel model.
Can I change the assumptions?+
Yes. You can change assumptions and the live formulas will recalculate in the downloadable Excel model.
Have more financial modelling questions? Contact us
Created by ex-finance professionals
Hey, I’m Alex and I created Finamodel.
Over my years in the finance industry I kept building the same models over and over again. Same structure, same assumptions, different logo. So I started building frameworks to turn them into clean, reusable templates.
Every model here is one I’d actually use for a client, and I personally vet each one before it goes up.
I’m not an expert in every industry, but I’ve built enough models to know what belongs in one. And when something is completely foreign to me, I reach out to my network for experts to work on our models with us.
Having a template library on hand cuts a first build from hours to minutes.
Need help finding your model? You’ll find me in the Finamodel app!
Other Hardware/Deep-tech Startup Financial Models
Browse another startup in the same category.
ANYbotics
ANYbotics builds and sells autonomous legged inspection robots (ANYmal) for industrial facilities, targeting oil & gas, chemicals, power, offshore, mining, and manufacturing sectors.
Awake Security
Awake Security - AI-driven Network Detection & Response (NDR) platform for the hybrid cloud, positioning as the "intent detection" layer of the SOC visibility triad.
Beem
AR communications platform that overlays full-body "hologram" video of a person into the recipient's physical space via smartphone or web.
Blue White Robotics
Autonomous robotics platform converting existing farm equipment to self-driving tractors for permanent-crop growers, sold as Robots-as-a-Service.
Cambridge GaN Devices
Fabless semiconductor startup commercialising self-protected GaN power transistors (HiGaN) that replace silicon and standard GaN with higher efficiency and no external protection circuitry.
Canix
Cannabis-focused ERP (inventory tracking, compliance automation, sales management, yield forecasting) sold as SaaS to cannabis cultivators, manufacturers, and distributors.
Chobani
Chobani is the US market leader in Greek yogurt; TPG invested $671M in April 2014 for a 35% stake via a structured second lien + equity deal
Cipher Skin
Wearable sensor mesh platform that collects dense multi-modal data from human bodies and industrial objects to predict structural and functional failure before it occurs.
