London start-up Allplants, which delivers tasty vegan frozen meals to customers, has raised £3.4 million through crowdfunding, the biggest-ever amount raised for a UK vegan company in this manner.
The company started by brothers Alex and Jonathan Petrides in 2017 with a goal to make it easier for people to included plant-based meals in their diets, initially had planned to raise £2 million on the crowdfunding platform Seedrs. However it quickly hit this target in 48 hours.
A further £1.4 million was gathered from a total of 1,824 investors, including VC firms such as Felix Capital and Octopus Ventures as well as its customers.
Speaking about the fundraising, CEO Jonathan Petrides said: “We’re delighted with the huge support and belief our community has shown in this crowdfunding round. It’s surpassed our expectations and allows us to look ahead at 2020 with even bolder growth plans.”
Allplants has served over one million vegan meals from its kitchen in North London since it was launched three years ago. Clients can order a box of dishes as a one-off or as a subscription. Meals include a plant-based take on Rigatoni Carbonara and Cauli Tikka Masala and the meals are delivered in environmentally-friendly packaging, using a combination of dry ice and cotton denim insulation to keep the meals frozen on the go.
Only 38 per cent of the start-up’s clients are in London, with this only set to grow. Using the new funds, Allplant’s hopes to upgrade new food categories and service over 60,000 meals a week from its production kitchen. A further Series B funding round is on the card towards the end of this year, with the company hoping to develop distribution partners to launch in new markets in Europe and North America by 2025.
