Meat-free brand VFC has received a £6m ($7.432m) investment from vegan-focussed investment firm Veg Capital.
VFC is looking to expand in the UK and internationally with the funding. The business also made it clear that it is open to further investment from other firms, with Veg Capital as its sole investor.
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Veg Capital, headed by Matthew Glover who also founded VFC, invested £7.5m into the brand in 2022 and £2.5m in 2021.
Oustide the UK, the vegan company is present in the Nethelands and the US. It is planning on launching across the Nordic countries, Belgium and Spain, with further expansion planned into France, Germany and Australia. VFC will also be investing in adjacent categories, including into the chilled aisle, later this year.
Launched in 2020, co-founders Matthew Glover and Adam Lyons won distribution in Tesco in 2021 and saw their brand’s coverage increase “ten-fold” in the last six months, according to a statement. No specific figures were provided. It has since gained distribution in Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, Ocado and Waitrose.
VFC CEO Dave Sparrow said: “We’ve had an awesome journey so far, with the past six to 12 months really shaping the future success of the business. Veg Capital has been a fantastic partner for the VFC team and we are hungrier than ever to realise the full potential of the brand and remove animals from the food chain.
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By GlobalData“We will continue to unlock more shelf space across our global market, building on our existing frozen range, stretching into different meal occasions and adjacent categories with the incredible NPD pipeline our team has built.”
The brand has also launched in retailer Albert Heijn in The Netherlands and UK wholesalers.
“The business is open to further investment and we would welcome the opportunity to speak with investors who are as excited about the future of VFC as the team who are driving it,” Sparrow added.
