Matthew Glover

Matthew Glover of VFG

Image courtesy of Matthew Glover
People

Matthew Glover on VFG: “We’ll Be Able to Offer Retailers a ‘One-Stop Shop’ for a Wide Range of Plant-Based SKUs”

This week, vegan challenger brand VFC and its parent company VFC Foods became Vegan Food Group (VFG) presently including its acquired brands Meatless Farm and Clive’s Purely Plants, with plans for continuous strategic acquisitions. The move heralds a “transformative era in the plant-based food sector” according to Glover, who foresees a near future for the vegan industry based on collaborative efforts, “this is an opportunity for both VFG and the wider movement,” he says. Here Glover tells us more about the new group and its vision, along with an upcoming side project that will be of interest to many in the space. Can you elaborate on the vision behind transforming VFC Foods into The Vegan Food Group? What was the stimulus? Well, I guess it …

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VFG banner logo

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Company News

VFC Foods Becomes The Vegan Food Group, a Plant-Based Powerhouse “Heralding a Transformative Era” in Plant-Based Foods

The Vegan Food Group (VFG) is unveiled today as the new entity for VFC Foods Ltd, setting out its vision as a “new plant-based powerhouse” and boldly stating its commitment to becoming a global food leader. The group as emerging this week currently entails VFC (Vegan Fried Chicken) and its acquired brands Meatless Farm and Clive’s Purely Plants, with plans for further acquisitions. The formation of the new group, according to VFC, heralds a “transformative era in the plant-based food sector”. As most of our readers will know, VFC was founded at the end of 2020 by Matthew Glover and chef Adam Lyons, with a mission to “take on the chicken industry and ultimately save chickens from the cruelty of factory farming”. Following three years …

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Meatless Farm VFC

Meatless Farm X VFC
Investments & Acquisitions

VFC Saves Meatless Farm From Administration

In a much-needed injection of good news for plant-based business, especially in the UK, fried chicken challenger brand VFC today officially confirms the acquisition of Meatless Farm, which was on the brink of bankruptcy, as many of our readers will be well aware. In a deal worth £12m in sales, VFC has stepped in to save the British brand known in particular for its vegan mince product. The Meatless Farm brand will be retained, with the product range diversifying VFC Foods’ existing plant-based chick*n portfolio.  Speaking to vegconomist this morning, Co-founder Matthew Glover states: “Those claiming the plant-based food movement has peaked are mistaken. The consumer appetite for plant-based is still there and at a total EU level, the category is in growth, with unit …

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VFC Vegan Chicken

©VFC
Products & Launches

VFC Expands US Retail Presence to Over 100 Raley’s Stores, Adds Fried Chick*n Tenders to Line

Vegan fried chick*n brand VFC announces it is expanding its US retail presence by launching into over 100 Raley’s grocery stores. Described as an “exciting milestone” for VFC, Raley’s markets on the US West Coast will carry several of the brand’s plant-based products, including Chick*n Filets, Tenders and Popcorn Chick*n. Founded in the UK, VFC aims to revolutionize the plant-based food market with fried vegan chick*n offerings it says don’t sacrifice on flavor. The brand’s products, which are high in protein and feature a crunchy cornflake coating, include: Chick*n Filets – For burgers, sandwiches and more Chick*n Tenders – For dipping and dunking Popcorn Chick*n – For a light, sharable snack Phenomenal success Following tremendous success in the UK and Europe, VFC entered the US …

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three words highlighted in yellow: unite, disrupt, transform

© Generation Vegan
Charity & Campaigns

Million Dollar Vegan Rebrands to ‘Generation Vegan’, Plans to Expose Animal Ag Industry

International vegan charity Million Dollar Vegan has announced it will be changing its name to Generation Vegan, or GenV, with the new name intended to better reflect the organisation’s direction. The newly branded GenV sets out with the mantra, “Unite, Disrupt, Transform”. The non-profit was initially launched by Veganuary co-founder Matthew Glover as a campaign offering to donate $1 million to charity if a notable figure — such as the Pope or Donald Trump — tried a vegan diet. When the pandemic hit, the charity shifted its focus, instead committing to donating a million vegan meals to communities in need. After giving away thousands of kilos of food, the charity reached its goal last month. In the wake of the pandemic, GenV decided to continue …

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Sentient Ventures

©Sentient Ventures
Investments & Finance

Veganuary Founder Matthew Glover Announces £30M Sentient Ventures Vegan Fund

Sentient Ventures, a new UK venture fund has been launched to invest in early-stage growth capital for alt protein startups globally. Headed by Matthew Glover, co-founder of Veganuary, VFC, and Veg Capital, the Sentient Ventures founding team also includes venture investor Alexandra Clark and former investment banker Manish Karani.  The new London-based Sentient Ventures £30 million investment vehicle will spur growth in firms developing alt meat products in the plant-based and fermentation sectors. Growth capital between £500,000 and £2.5 million will be available to startups driving the net zero transition and removing animals from the supply chain, with the fund targeting a 3-5x return on investments (MOIC). Sentient Ventures will use its proprietary impact assessment tool to evaluate metrics such as reductions in greenhouse gas …

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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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Satvinder Bains, Home Chef and Founder of Plant Alternative

©Plant Alternative
Interviews

Plant Alternative: “Our Products Make Choosing Plant-Based Alternatives Easier; Because Small Changes Can Make a Big Difference”

Plant Alternative is absolutely unique in its USP: veganised versions of the UK’s favourite Indian ready meals, products that stand far out from other ready meals on the market due to their restaurant quality and authentic flavours, as well as their vegan “Shicken” meat which is quite unlike others on the market. The London-based family brand has seen huge success since catching the attention of Matthew Glover just last year and has already bagged its first retail partnership with CostCo. We caught up with founder Satvinder Bains to find out about the background to the product range and her passion for bringing authentic Indian flavours vegan-friendly dishes.  What is the background behind Plant Alternative/Shicken?  Having grown up as a vegetarian in Nottingham with a North …

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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, Home Chef and Founder of Plant Alternative

©Plant Alternative
Products & Launches

Plant Alternative Launches [SHICKEN] Indian Kebabs into Costco UK

Plant Alternative, a London-based producer of 100% plant-based, restaurant quality Indian dishes called [SHICKEN], containing a realistic chick*n meat created from textured soya fibre, announces a retail agreement with Costco across the UK. Plant Alternative’s range of authentic Asian dishes caught the attention of Vegan investor Matthew Glover last year, who was “blown away” by their quality, resulting in an investment from his VC firm Veg Capital which helped propel the brand’s success.  Founder Satvinder Bains spent two years developing [SHICKEN] curries with a team of chefs to ensure that while using only plant-based ingredients there would be no compromise on taste. The final recipes, combining marinated and flame grilled [SHICKEN] vegan pieces and hand-crafted Indian sauces, resulted in the closest vegan match to some …

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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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©VFC
Products & Launches

Tesco to Become First Large Retailer to Bring VFC Fried Chick*n to Mainstream Market

After its recent US expansion, vegan fried chicken producer VFC today announces that from World Vegan Day on 1st November, its first major retailer listing will commence with Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket chain. Derek Sarno, Director of Plant-based Innovation at Tesco, enthuses: “I’m thrilled that Tesco is the first large retailer to bring VFC to the mainstream market. The plant-protein market is growing rapidly, and VFC brings something genuinely exciting to the sector. With no compromise on flavour, it offers a delicious alternative that will help make eating plant-based easier – and tastier – than ever.”   The products rolling out into 370 Tesco stores less than a month from now will be: VFC Original Recipe Chick*n Fillets, 220g RRP £3 VFC Original Recipe …

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Fellow Creatures Vegan Creamy Plant-Based Chocolate Range

© Fellow Creatures, ltd.
Investments & Finance

Scottish Chocolate Brand Fellow Creatures Secures Six Figure Investment

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 …

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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 Adam and Matt

©VFC

Marketing & Media

VFC Says Trolls Are Good for Business

It was clear from the outset that VFC was not going to conduct itself like any other food brand. Even before they had made their first sale, the company’s Instagram bio read Thanks Colonel, we’ll take it from here, declaring in that one line that this was a brand with big personality, a neat line in self-deprecating humour and uninhibited global ambitions.

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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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Interviews

Stewart McGuckin: “I’ve Worked For Some of the Biggest Companies in the World and I Have Never Known Such a Response – It Truly is Inspiring”

“Ours is an act of positive rebellion against a system that has brought us climate change, environmental destruction, factory farming and slaughterhouses,” says VFC, the vegan fried chicken brand, based in the UK and already successfully taking over mainland Europe, before the rest of the world. “Our way to dismantle this destructive system is with great food. This is our sit-down protest.”

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©VFC
Company News

VFC Arrives in Mainland Europe: “This Takes Us a Step Closer to Our Ultimate Goal: The End of Factory Farming”

VFC launched at the end of December 2020 with a very simple mission: to take on the chicken industry. A “sit-down protest” with the purpose of saving as many lives as possible. Now, less than three months after launch, the first international shipment has already been received, after securing deals with seven UK food service outlets and two e-commerce platforms (full list below).

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