Veg Capital

Shicken receives a further £4M from Veg Capital

© SHICKEN Foods
Investments & Acquisitions

Veg Capital Triples Investment for SHICKEN to Become a Global Brand & Major Producer Within 5 Years

UK-based SHICKEN Foods, creator of vegan Asian dishes (presently curries and kebabs) featuring highly realistic “chicken” created from a blend of soy, wheat, and pea proteins, today announces it has received an additional £4 million from Veg Capital, to take the brand fully global. This brings the total funding to date to £6 million in SHICKEN from the non-profit VC firm. The fresh capital will be used for further CAPEX investment in the brand’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Kent, making it one of the UK’s few dedicated plant-based, nut-free manufacturers. The company will now have the capacity and capability to produce various branded and private-label products for both retail and foodservice. Made using a unique technology that creates a chargrilled chicken-like texture, the SHICKEN products …

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Grace Regan SpiceBox

Grace Regan ©Spicebox

Investments & Finance

Veg Capital Announces Investment in SpiceBox Plant-Based Indian Meals

Vegan investment fund Veg Capital today announces an investment into the retail subsidiary of vegan Indian restaurant chain SpiceBox, with the funds planned to support the development of a new ready-to-eat curry range set to launch later this year and increase retail footprint.  Founded in 2016 by Grace Regan, Spicebox produces fully vegan dishes using the same ingredients and recipes as used in the London restaurants. The first retail product, a ready-to-eat dhal range, was launched in Planet Organic in January this year and is now available at CLF, Cotswold Fayre and Wholegood, and imminently at Ocado Zoom. Veg Capital’s Managing Director Matthew Glover said, “I met Grace at a Vevolution Pitch & Plant event a couple of years ago and was struck by her …

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Brazilian brand Conví Foods

© Conví Foods
Investments & Acquisitions

Veg Capital Invests BRL 1 Million in Female-Led Brazilian Brand Conví Foods

UK-based vegan investment fund Veg Capital has invested BRL 1 million in plant-based Brazilian brand Conví Foods. The investment took place through Vegan Business, Brazil’s only dedicated plant-based equity crowdfunding platform. Founded by Bárbara Andrade, Conví is a foodtech company developing plant-based products such as hamburgers, meatballs, cheese bread, falafel, and nuggets. The products are made with minimally processed ingredients, including mushrooms, oilseeds, and chickpeas. Conví will use the funding to scale its presence within Brazil. Vegan Business Conví is the fourth startup to raise funding via Vegan Business, and has secured the highest sum so far. The other companies are vegan sunscreen brand Chameleon Sun, plant milk producer Purifica, and cashew cheese company Novah!. In total, startups have raised BRL 3 million on the …

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Kyle Parchment, founder Jam N' Vegan

©Jam'n' Vegan
Investments & Acquisitions

Veg Capital Invests in Young Chef’s World Cuisine Inspired Vegan Ready Meals

Veg Capital announces an investment in vegan ready meal startup Jam ‘n’ Vegan. The brand produces a range of culturally inspired dishes inspired by chef Kyle Parchment’s world travels and has already gained a following in the UK, racking up over 1000 positive reviews. The brand’s continually expanding range includes both traditional and unfamiliar dishes from around the world with a vegan twist, including Jackfruit Mutton with Rice and Peas, Drunken Laska Noodles (pictured below), Tuk Tuk Tikka, Thai Mango Curry, This is Not Butter Chicken, East African Bean Stew with Jollof Rice, and Caribbean Mac n Cheez with Jerk Crumb. Veg Capital led the seed round with a £200,000 investment and will join the board to help Parchment to expand his team, starting with …

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Founders Chloe Sweden & Ellen Chng © The Green Shoot Institute
Investments & Finance

 The Green Shoot Institute Secures £365K in Pre-Seed For PLANTS + PERKS

The Green Shoot Institute of London has closed an overfunded pre-seed round led by Sustainable Ventures, with backing from Veg Capital and Popsockets. £365k of strategic investment was secured for its PLANTS + PERKS programme which the company says is the world’s first plant-based wellbeing and benefits portal that rewards employees for healthy, sustainable choices. The Green Shoot Institute was founded in 2020 by Chloe Sweden and Ellen Chng with the aim of informing, inspiring and incentivising employees to cut back on meat and dairy for both personal health and the health of the planet. PLANTS + PERKS is the company’s first product and has already launched in the UK, the EU and the US this year with early clients such as Lacoste, UBER and …

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Plant Alternative co-founders with Veg Capital's Matthew Glover. © Plant Alternative
Investments & Acquisitions

Plant Alternative Secures Further £2M From Veg Capital for SHICKEN Indian Ready Meals

The UK’s Plant Alternative, which produces the SHICKEN range of chef-made Indian ready meals, has received further funding from Veg Capital. The nonprofit impact fund led Plant Alternative’s recent round with a £2 million investment, which will be used to scale up production. The company will also be expanding its team, launching at Costco stores across the UK and internationally, and moving to a larger production facility. The new factory will allow Plant Alternative to produce 10 tonnes of product per day, as demand from retailers, foodservice outlets, and DTC customers continues to soar. Costco launch SHICKEN Tikka Kebab Skewers launched at Costco UK in January to huge success — according to Plant Alternative, they have been “flying off the shelves”. “We’re really keen to …

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Libre Foods

Image Source: Libre Foods social media
Investments & Acquisitions

Libre Foods Raises €2.2M at Forefront of Europe’s Mycelium Meat Revolution

Libre Foods, the Barcelona startup creating mycelium-based alt meats, has closed a €2.2 million investment round. The biotech plans to use the new funds to bring its Libre Bacon product to market in Spain during 2022, with a wider European launch to follow soon after, pending regulatory approval. With 2021 seeing the company establish its headquarters and laboratory in Barcelona, the company has also announced plans to accelerate the development of its chicken and whole meat products. Libre Foods uses a fermentation process to create mycelium biomass structures that it combines with food science to create what it claims are whole-muscle cut meat products. The €2.2 million seed round included star investors such as Matthew Glover’s Veg Capital, as well as food awareness organization ProVeg …

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VFC_Hero_Image

©VFC
Investments & Finance

Vegan Fried Chick*n Brand VFC Raises $10.3M, Plans “Fast-Paced” US Growth

UK based vegan fried chick*n startup VFC Foods Ltd, launched by Veganuary founder Matthew Glover just 13 months ago, has secured £7.5m ($10.3m) in a seed round led by Veg Capital, and plans extensive growth into US and international markets.  The fresh funds will be used by the social media star to support greater capacity, team building, marketing, R&D and upscaling of the business in international markets, following a massively successful 2021 that saw growth into mainland Europe and mainstream retail expansion into the UK’s biggest supermarket Tesco.  “Huge interest from investors” Veg Capital, which also invested in VFC’s earlier seed round in March of last year, is an ethical fund which donates all profits to animal charities and provides early-stage capital to companies working …

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Satvinder Bains & Matthew Glover Veg Capital Shicken

Satvinder Bains & Matthew Glover ©Veg Capital
Investments & Finance

Veg Capital Invests in Plant Alternative, Pioneer of Frozen Indian “Shicken” Curries

Veg Capital, the UK vegan investment fund, has invested in plant-based frozen meal service Plant Alternative. Producers of the highly realistic “Shicken”, Plant Alternative creates vegan alternatives to a wide range of Indian food favorites and offers a DTC service.  “We think there is a real opportunity for frozen Indian meals in the curry-loving UK market and beyond” – Matthew Glover, Veg Capital Founded by head chef Satvinder Bains, Plant Alternative will be teaming up with Veg Capital to strategize scale-up through food service, retail, and export. A deal with a major UK retailer is expected to be made soon.  After discovering the Shicken products and being highly impressed by the quality, Veg Capital’s Managing Director Matthew Glover knew the fund had to invest in …

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Brandplant

©Brandplant
Investments & Finance

Plant-Based Industry to Flourish in Benelux With Support From Veg Capital & Kale United

UK’s Veg Capital and Sweden’s Kale United, two game-changers in the world of vegan and ethical investment, have invested in Brandplant, a Netherlands distributor of plant-based products, signalling the acceleration of vegan product availability in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. The partnership between these three ethically aligned companies with an impressive combined international vegan network has huge potential for the growth of plant-based business in the three markets. The funds will be utilised to accelerate the growth of current Brandplant brands, in addition to portfolio brands of Veg Capital and Kale United, who in return will support Brandplant’s own brands in the UK and Scandinavia. “It really is a win-win situation,” states Veg Capital’s Managing Director Matthew Glover, who also co-founded Veganuary and VFC, “as …

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Interviews

Clive’s Purely Plants: “Being Mission-Aligned With Our Investor Was Non-Negotiable. This is an Exciting New Chapter For Clive’s and We Can’t Wait to Get Started”

Founded in 1986, Clive’s Purely Plants is a household name in the UK, known for its range of hugely popular pies which became 100% vegan last year. Last week the Devon brand announced news of its significant investment from Veg Capital, the plant-based investment firm created by Veganuary founder Matthew Glover. Amid the flurry of growth and expansion plans, with a sales target of £10M for the coming years, Esther Pearson, Managing Director of Clive’s, took a moment to talk with vegconomist about her own plant-based business journey, female empowerment, and the exciting times ahead for Clive’s Purely Plants. Can you tell us more about your personal journey to becoming vegan? I haven’t always been vegan. I grew up in South Africa where eating meat …

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Clive's Purely Plants

Matthew Glover and Esther Pearson ©Clive's Purely Plants
Investments & Finance

Veg Capital Announces Majority Share in Clive’s Pies

Veg Capital, the UK vegan investment fund launched by Veganuary founder Matthew Glover, has completed a significant investment in Clive’s Purely Plants, the Devon-based producer of organic, plant-based pies. Veg Capital will now hold a majority share in Clive’s as it aims to ramp up production 400% and reach £10m in sales.  “This partnership has huge potential to further our mission of replacing animals in the food system, and we’re thrilled to be working together” – Matthew Glover  Known as an innovator of plant-based pies, as well as for its expanding range of vegan baked goods, Clive’s was founded in 1986 by Clive Lowe, who began selling the bakery’s signature ‘Creamy Mushroom Pie’ from the back of his bicycle. In 2020, the much-loved British pie-maker …

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©VFC
Investments & Finance

VFC Secures £2.5 Million Seed Funding, Aims to Surpass £50M in International Sales by 2025

VFC Foods Ltd – the mission-driven vegan fried chick*n company founded in the UK just three months ago and already operational in mainland Europe with plans for international expansion, today announces a raise of £2.5m seed funding round led by Veg Capital. By the end of 2023, VFC plans to achieve sales of £20m, equivalent to 3 million chickens, and £50m in financial year 2025, or 7.5 million chickens.

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©VFC
Company News

Veganuary Founder Launches VFC: Vegan Fried Chick*n, Will Eventually Outprice KFC

Matthew Glover, the vegan serial entrepreneur and the founder of multiple world-changing vegan projects such as Veganuary, Million Dollar Vegan, and Veg Capital, today announces the launch of Vegan Fried Chick*n Company VFC with plans to overtake the chicken industry. “This is where food meets activism. This is our sit-down protest.”

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Simi Johnson & Cliff Johnson of Veg Capital

Interviews

Veg Capital: “A Venture Capital Fund Specifically Focused on the Removal of Animals From the Food Chain”

Launched this year by Matthew Glover, co-founder of Veganuary and Million Dollar Vegan; Veg Capital was set up to help new vegan enterprises to develop sustainable alternatives to meat, dairy, eggs and seafood. Its impressive portfolio already boasts some of the most influential and innovative brands in the UK’s vegan industry and beyond.

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Purezza

©Purezza
Gastronomy & Food Service

UK’s First Vegan Pizza Chain Purezza Receives Investment, Will Expand Overseas and Launch into Retail

MVK Group, a holdings company in London, has completed a funding round into award-winning pizza chain Purezza, bringing its total raise to £2.4m. Additionally, vegan investment firm Veg Capital announces an investment in the coming retail expansion for Purezza’s mozzarella, which will see a brand new 8,000 square foot retail space.

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