Anti-food waste table sauce maker Rubies in the Rubble has kicked off a round of fundraising as it seeks £300k to expand its presence in leading grocers.
The brand, which makes use of rejected fruit & veg that would otherwise go to waste, yesterday (30 April) launched a crowdfunding push on Seedrs, seeking investment in return for 5.88% of equity. At the time of writing, it had achieved 69% of its target, with the majority (£160k) coming from London’s Mustard Seed, an investor in fast-growing European ventures.
Rubies in the Rubble, which has valued itself at £4.8m, launched in 2011 and has so far saved more than seven million pieces of unwanted fruit & veg.
Having secured listings with the likes of Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Ocado, Eat, Marriott Group and Honest Burger, the business was now looking to “utilise our existing brand platform to launch into the mainstream condiments market as the sustainable alternative with a classic ketchup and plant-based mayo” it said.
Funds from the Seedrs push would be put towards “unlocking national retail distribution and trial at scale” and on marketing that “shines a light on the wider global issue of food sustainability and encouraging consumers to value food”, Rubies in the Rubble added. It was currently working on a rebrand “to solidify our brand proposition as the sustainable alternative in the condiment category”.
Rubies in the Rubble’s ambition was to save 300,000 tonnes of fruit by 2030. “We have the brand, we have the products, we have the team” said founder Jenny Costa. “And with nine in 10 millennials saying they would switch to a brand associated with a cause, we have the opportunity for a bright future.”
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