Wellness-focused premium fermented food brand FERMARY joined the New Covent Garden Market family earlier this year, setting up its production base in the rail arches after joining forces with long-established Market wholesaler S. Thorogood & Sons.

Using raw ingredients to handcraft an assortment of fermented foods – including krauts, kimchis and sauces – FERMARY has the twin aims of creating culinary experiences and promoting better health. Gut health is currently a hot topic: home to more than 100 trillion microbial cells, our gut influences our physiology, metabolism, nutrition and our immune function. So now is the perfect time to launch a business that creates fermented foods designed to transform gut health and elevate everyday meals.

Female-led

FERMARY is proud to be a female-led business and a continuation of the values established by co-founder and Head of Brand Elena Deminska (pictured), who has led women-centred teams for more than a decade in her previous ventures. Together with Managing Director Lucie Hague, FERMARY celebrates a predominantly female workforce, many of whom are Ukrainian women who previously worked with Elena and her husband Andrey at their former fermentation business. “We’ve built something special together,” says Elena. “Our team is incredibly loyal, skilled, and connected by shared purpose, it’s not just a workplace, it’s a real community.”

Lucie adds: “It’s rare to find such deep experience and consistency in a team, and it’s what makes FERMARY so special.”

Although FERMARY is a new venture, its roots run deep. Elena and Andrey have been at the heart of London’s fresh produce and fermentation scene for more than a decade. Their first venture was Puntarelle & Co, a respected retail outlet with a strong following among the chef community and a loyal customer base. The duo later opened a production kitchen in Bermondsey’s Spa Terminus, alongside respected names like Monmouth Coffee, Neal’s Yard Dairy, and Natoora.

Next up was fermentation brand, London Fermentary, offering a range of wild-fermented krauts, kimchis, and drinks. London Fermentary quickly became known for quality ingredients and was stocked by Whole Foods, Planet Organic, Harrods, Selfridges and farm shops across UK. “Fermentation is part of our heritage,” says Elena. “We grew up with it. It’s not a trend, it’s a natural, intuitive part of how we eat and live. My recipes are based on tradition, deep hands-on experience and curiosity with innovation.”

After facing a difficult situation with investors, the original business was forced to close. Recognising the value of what had been built, long-time supplier Andrew Thorogood (of S. Thorogood & Sons) reached out to offer support. Elena introduced Lucie into the conversation - a seasoned business strategist with a background in specialist food, retail, and wellness. In combination with Andrew and his son Will, a new structure was established to bring the next chapter to life.

“The food and drink industry in the UK is really small, we all know one another,” says Lucie, who established The Bay Tree Food Co more than 30 years ago. “My background is very much in retail and foodservice, so it’s all about relationships for me. I’ve always been a great believer in using our connections to support each other and since we first thought of the FERMARY concept, the focus has been about getting back to producing. We retained our previous production team and moved them across to New Covent Garden Market at the start of this year. After making sure our new site was up and running, we officially launched in March. It’s important for us to celebrate the fact we’re female-led as that’s a real point of difference.”

The next chapter

The new partnership with Thorogoods was formed to continue the story of an established fermentation business built on years of tangible success, customer relationships and proven products. With FERMARY as the founding brand the company itself is The Big Pickle Company, which provides the structural base for future innovation, with FERMARY at the heart of its launch. Adding Thorogoods directors Andrew and Will into the mix makes for an ideal combination of product integrity, seasonal sourcing, and shared values, as Will explains: “Bringing FERMARY into the fold felt like a natural progression. Just as we champion fresh produce, FERMARY celebrates fresh produce by preserving peak-season ingredients in a way that enhances both taste and nutrition.”

With raw ingredients sourced directly from British growers, FERMARY’s commitment to traditional wild fermentation methods continues to set it apart. The brand has already been welcomed by leading retailers including Whole Foods, Planet Organic, and several of the UK’s most respected farm shops and delicatessens - a reflection of the established reputation behind the products, and the relationships nurtured over years of consistent quality and trust. FERMARY is also available via its online shop, offering individual jars and curated bundles for home delivery.

Secret of success

As a new brand, FERMARY benefits from the heritage and visibility of New Covent Garden Market and the close ties to long-time produce supplier Thorogoods. “The Market is like a best-kept secret,” says Lucie. “People have heard of the name and know the heritage, even if they have never visited. Now that we’re based here, we’re able to see this dynamic ecosystem in full swing and it’s incredibly energizing. We love being based at the Market and being part of a wider community of independent food businesses.

"There may be new concepts in the future but now our focus is firmly on FERMARY because we already know these recipes work, the market exists, that’s what consumers want, and the quality speaks for itself.”

Elena adds: “Andrey and I had been visiting New Covent Garden Market for more than 11 years with our previous business, Puntarelle & Co, mostly during the night hours when it’s busiest. We’ve always known the traders, energy and the pace. Now being here in the daytime, it’s a completely different experience, but equally brilliant. This place is vital to London’s food scene and the UK supply chain. We feel lucky to be part of it.”

Less is more

The unique branding is another point of difference, offering a minimal look that allows the natural colour of the products to shine. “I love the branding because it’s so simplistic,” says Lucie. “I think we’ve got the packaging right with Elena’s eye for detail on that. She wanted the bottle to be transparent so you can see the colours, which are amazing, aren’t they? We felt that the white and gold were very pure and elegant. You know, competition is tough with a lot of fermenting businesses out there, so we need to significantly stand out.” Elena, who led the brand’s visual direction and story, adds: “I wanted FERMARY to feel natural, elegant, and feminine, but also modern and strong. I brought in the white-and-gold palette because it felt clean and luminous, allowing the product itself to shine. The visual identity had to feel different from anything else in the market - and deeply connected to what’s inside the jar.”

Although she’s not a product developer in the traditional sense, Elena works from intuition and observation. “I see what the modern wellness customer wants, food trends, what’s missing, and how to express that through food. I don’t follow trends or create for the sake of filling shelves. For me, new products arise naturally - sometimes from a supplier’s harvest, sometimes from an unexpected gap in the market, and sometimes by pure accident in the right moment and space. They can’t be forced. That’s when they’re real and when people truly want them.”

Elena adds: “Every product must carry a story, a purpose. My core belief is simple: it must be beautiful too - because people buy with their eyes - delicious, and beneficial. When all three align, that’s when a product becomes a winner.” Priced at the top-end of the price range for fermented goods, at £10 a jar, Lucie is confident that FERMARY can gradually position itself as a premium product. “All our products are handmade here in the Market and we want to shout about that,” says Lucie. “We’re confident we have the best products, with the best branding and the best taste, using the best quality ingredients in the right combination. Yes, it’s £10 a jar at retail, but in the scheme of things where people are quite willing to pay £4.50 for a cup of coffee, we’re actually offering great value.”

Continues Elena: “We stand by the quality. These are not massproduced ferments, they’re handcrafted with intention, integrity, and flavour. We use a great deal of inherited knowledge and unique traditional methods, and we don’t take shortcuts - everything is fermented until it’s truly ready, for maximum flavour and gut-health benefits.”

What’s next?

FERMARY’s core collection of wild ferments continues to grow, with occasional limited-edition products reflecting the availability of peak-season produce from Thorogoods’ trusted grower network. Like any new product, Lucie reveals the brand will grow and evolve over the months ahead. “We’re going to make a few tweaks,” says Lucie, “such as having printed lids and changing the size of the sauce bottle, so it comes out a little easier.”

A new one-kilo pack has just launched, specifically for the catering industry so chefs can use FERMARY products in cafés and foodservice. “Next up will be a big online push starting in September,” says Lucie, who is working with an agency called Tribe Digital, which has supported brands like Bold Bean, Freja, and Citizens of Soil. “I’ve partnered with them before; they’re a small, agile team who really understand digital,” she explains.

The partnership with Tribe began in July, with a focus on e-commerce, digital advertising, and refining the website. Elena adds: “We already have a loyal base of returning customers and subscribers, many of whom have followed our journey for years. The next phase is about nurturing those relationships while expanding our reach online. We’ll continue to collaborate with like-minded wellness and food brands; it’s such an inspiring, cost-effective way to grow the brand with soul.”

With the possibility of celebrity endorsement in the future, Lucie says everyone should watch this space. “We’re getting some great call outs from lots of people who’d like to partner with us in some way. Nothing’s certain but it would be great if we did. We’re being very careful to work with key retailers throughout the UK, so we can establish and build a loyal customer base, which is a big objective for us. We’ve already got several subscribers, and our continuing objective is to grow a subscriber database for automated orders delivered via post. We all know we’ve got great tasting products that stand out from the crowd.”