Edinburgh based chocolate producer Fellow Creatures has secured a £450,000 investment for expansion of its palm oil-free products which are now listed with WH Smith and Sainsbury’s across the UK. The progressive and ethically-driven brand was one of six graduates of the ProVeg incubator last year.
Founder Zsolt Stefkovics, who originally hails from a dairy farming family, says: “Growing up in a family of dairy farmers, I have always loved chocolate. Upon leaving my homeland Hungary at age 18, I became a vegan. Realising a real lack of indulgent, creamy chocolate choices in the free-from aisles, I decided to create my own with all the fun and creaminess we all remember from our childhood.
“Having been picked on at primary school, I learned that inclusivity and unconditional kindness is the easiest and biggest difference one can make. Not only to our human fellows but to all of our animal Earth-mates. By now, you may be realising that the production of dairy, and therefore chocolate, involves the exploitation of mother cows for their milk.
“Sometimes the old ways of doing things need revisited and revised.”
Speaking about the recent funding, Stefkovics stated, “This investment will help us strengthen our position as a leading plant-based chocolate brand and drive growth by expanding our retail presence and online distribution.”
Veganuary founder Matthew Glover, one of the lead investors in the new funding, says: “We have seen a boom in the plant-based market over the last few years, particularly in food and drink products aimed at vegans and flexitarians alike. Fellow Creatures is a brand that has really found a gap in the market for high-quality alternatives to our favourite foods, in this case, chocolate.”
