Vegan start-up Vegy, founded in 2019 in Pucón, Chile, is seeking investors and co-founding partners to take its business to a new level of accelerated growth. The company, known for its gourmet and healthy dishes, has incorporated recent innovations including fortifying its products with vitamins and minerals.
Cristóbal Esparza, the founder behind Vegy, started his entrepreneurial venture with a small vegan restaurant in Pucón. With limited resources and the support of a Sercotec fund, as well as some loans and reused equipment, Esparza formed Vegy’s first team, composed mainly of nutritionists committed to his vision.
Despite initial success, the pandemic forced the closure of the Pucón location, leading the company to adapt by creating a website and implementing an online sales and delivery model from a dark kitchen. This strategic shift allowed Vegy to increase sales and meet growing online demand.
New opportunities
Esparza and his team recognised the limitations of the local market in Pucón and Villarrica, as well as the lack of access to the main delivery applications. In response, they decided to expand their presence to other communities and regions. Today, Vegy is present in cities from the Ñuble region to the Los Lagos region, including Chillán, Concepción, Valdivia, Puerto Montt, Puerto Varas, Osorno, and Temuco. In addition, the startup is close to entering the Metropolitan Region market.
With the end of the pandemic, Vegy opened a new shop in Villarrica and obtained funding from Corfo, which allowed it to test scalable product pilots with potential for mass sale. The company has moved from working to order to a more efficient production model, offering packaged and ready-to-eat food.
A scalable business
Innovative thinking and a focus on scalability have been key to Vegy’s growth. “Nothing is faster than something that is already ready,” says Esparza, stressing the importance of constant customer feedback to improve products and processes. Vegy has diversified its sales channels and is looking for new distribution opportunities to reach more potential customers.
The campaign to attract new investors and co-founding partners is already underway, with the aim of finding people who share Esparza’s vision and want to join Vegy to make a disruptive impact on the market.
“I hope my story will motivate other entrepreneurs to keep pursuing their dreams and not give up in the face of challenges,’ says Esparza. ‘This story is just beginning and is full of resilience and an obsession to make an impact with purpose. I also want to seed interest in potential co-founding partners and investors who connect with our project and want to be part of this exciting adventure called Vegy.”
More information and details on Vegy’s networks and channels.
