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A record breaking £800,000 investment means
vegan food business
will expand its operation over the next 12
months – with plans to crack major mainstream retailers.
The company, which delivers frozen plant-based meals nationwide, was set up by brothers Alex and Jonathan (JP) Petrides in 2016. The entrepreneurs aim to ‘take plant-based eating mainstream, helping the UK lead healthier, more sustainable lives with no compromise on their delicious, feel good food’.
The funding was a first for venture capitalist Felix Capital, which has never invested in a plant-based start-up before. A number of people and companies from the food, media, and social impact sectors contributed to the fund.
According to the Petrides, the funds will be used
to ‘grow [their] vegan menu online, build a world-class team and
prepare for launch into major retailers’.
Antoine Nussenbaum, Felix Capital, said: “We are
delighted to back founders on such an inspiring mission: bringing the
plant-based culture central to mainstream lifestyles
is
much more than delicious food, it’s a community, an aspirational movement full
of creativity.”
The seeds of the business were sown after a move to a plant-based diet in 2015 led to the brothers to host a string of supperclubs. Their food struck such a chord with consumers, with diners taking their favourite dishes home, Alex and JP decided to bring their food to the wider marketplace.
This prompted a summer of intensive recipe development with skilled chefs. The aim? To create the UK’s first environmentally sustainable way to deliver delicious food nationwide. The dishes that were created include Cashew Mac, Jerk Jackfruit and Lasagne Caponata. They are all vegan and naturally packed full of protein, iron, B12 and omega.
After a soft launch to friends and family in late 2016 allplants started delivering freshly prepared plant-based meals nationwide in January 2017, serving over 15,000 meals to date.
Founder Alex Petrides says: “We believe that by 2030, most people will be mainly vegan – not hippies or activists, just normal, casual and vegan. The plant-based food scene is growing by the day. From stylish restaurants like Bluebird undergoing vegan make-over’s, to celebrities like Ellie Goulding, Emile Sande and David Haye rocking plant-power. It isn’t a fad. It’s a social movement.”
JP adds: “People already know that eating more plants is good for their health and the planet. We’re not here to preach, we’re simply focused on making delicious food, empowering the nation to feel good and do good. We’re part of a new generation who care deeply about our health just as much as the environment around us.”
This is the largest venture-round
raised by a European plant-based startup and comes weeks after a YouGov poll
revealed
think meat is unnecessary to
eating a good meal. It’s a clear signal that the UK’s burgeoning
plant-based eating movement is about to erupt.
