Plant-based cheese producer Honestly Tasty has raised more than £280k as it seeks to build out its retail listings and grow its foodservice operations.
The brand, already available in nearly 1,000 stores including M&S, Holland & Barrett and Ocado, passed its £250k target in its first week of a Seedrs crowdfunding campaign at a pre-money valuation of £9.9m.
It is currently overfunding, with £283k from 182 investors.
Investors include plant-based VC fund Veg Capital and the founders of Allplants, while former Iceland MD Nick Canning sits on its advisory board.
The company said it had experienced a fivefold uplift in sales, with 80,000 units sold in the three months to the end of September.
It will use the funds to boost R&D, to investigate improvements to the veining process of its blue cheese as well as shelf life extensions, while also investing in equipment, capacity and growing working capital.
In particular, it wants to grow its retail accounts, having secured listings at 166 M&S stores in April, and expand its foodservice offering.
It said the global market for vegan cheese would be $1.4bn in 2023, , and is expected to grow at a rate of nearly 17% annually up to 2030.
In the UK it claims to be the only artisan vegan cheese available through national retailers.
CEO Michael Robert Moore said overfunding on the campaign would enable to group to accelerate its growth plans and that there were potential consolidation opportunities in the sector as it continues to expand.
It raised £825k via Seedrs in mid 2022, surging past a £450k target valuing the company at £9m.
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