Stroli – the shopping trolley reimagined for modern needs. The shopping trolley, often associated with a particular image, is an untapped category ready for innovation. The market is flooded with generic, budget-friendly options that lack charm, with the exception of Rolser, which is pricier and claims the green niche. Stroli steps in as the go-to brand, offering a unique approach, positioning, voice, and eco-friendly credentials. Say goodbye to sore hands and plastic bags – Stroli makes shopping a pleasure with its high-quality, stylish trolley bags designed to enhance your convenience and style
days to go:
Extended
investment:
Withheld
Your Dog’s Club (YDC) is a dog-specific online retailer that provides high nutrition food and treats alongside top quality toys and accessories. YDC community consists of its customers (Waggys), local dog business partners (Pack Leaders), and industry experts (Gurus). The company aims to connect the aforementioned parties through its online community, coupled with a dedicated website, social media feeds, competition announcements, and pet education amidst other details. YDC has scored a 4.9 rating on Trustpilot and aims to be a contender in the £2 billion recession-proof pet market. It has also registered over 5,400 customers. YDC will use 30% of the investment for digital marketing, 25% for accelerating customer base, 20% as working capital, 20% to boost customer growth via affiliate agreements with Forestry England and English Heritage, and 5% for optimising operational costs.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£268,040
PLAYin CHOC is an innovative, premium and award-winning manufacturer of vegan organic eco-friendly toys and chocolates. Its products are allergen-free, plastic-free, 100% organic and inspire creative play. Since its launch, PLAYin CHOC has sold approximately 50,000+ units in 21 countries. Additionally, potential stockists for its products are estimated at 100,000 in the UK and 1 million globally. Now, PLAYin CHOC is planning to take its product to the market via high-end food supermarkets; independent food, confectionary and gift shops; travel retail market; direct to the consumer via subscription; and international distributors. Funds raised will be used to increase growth by securing larger and permanent premises and intensify targeted marketing at trade & consumer shows and online.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£278,450
The British Snack Co makes quirky and original British snacks. The company's award-winning flavours and unique ranges of craft popcorn, crisps, and pork snacks have sold over 8 million bags to date. It aims to be a contender in the £3.2 billion UK snacks market. The company's products are stocked across major retailers like Waitrose, Ocado's, Morrisons, Borough Box, and Amazon, to name a few. Its craft pork scratching product, Awfully Posh, was the first pork snack ever to win a Great Taste Award. The company has been working with buyers in the hospitality industry to create joint marketing plans for after lockdown to rapidly grow its Out Of Home (OOH) sales. It will use 50% of the investment to grow its staff, 37.5% towards trade marketing, and 12.5% for New Product Development (NPD).
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£382,495
East London Liquor Company (ELLC) has been distilling, importing and serving gins, whiskies, vodkas, rums, and canned cocktails since 2014. ELLC asserts that off-trade gin sales hit US$8.4 billion in 2020 with UK seltzer sales expected to reach £75 million by 2023. It intends to become a contender in the aforementioned categories. ELLC has had a 600% Year-on-Year (YoY) increase to £206,000 in off-trade sales from 2019-2020 to 2020-2021. The company has partnered with the UNESCO world heritage site, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, to release its product, Kew Gin. It has also entered into the Ready-To-Drink and seltzer categories with its range of canned drinks, and onboarded retailers like Waitrose, Tesco, and Co-Op. The company will use the investment to grow its off-trade channels both in the UK and abroad, expand its Direct To Consumer (DTC) output, update its 'Brand Home' to attract more customers, and increase its whisky production to meet demand.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£921,686
Hemspan states that it designs bio-based building systems and products for construction by combining modern methods, technology and hemp to produce net-zero carbon solutions. The company argues that every time an average house is built, the CO2 emitted by the manufacture, transport and assembly of the materials used is around 50 to 60 tonnes. Hemspan says that one hectare of UK-grown industrial hemp can absorb 11 tonnes of CO2 each year with regeneratively farmed hemp capable of sequestering a further 6 tonnes per hectare of CO2 into the soil each year. Hemspan intends to activate significant demand for hemp farming in the UK and develop processing technologies to reduce reliance on imports and enable large scale manufacturing of bio-based cladding and insulation products that spin out of R&D programmes. It asserts that the global industrial hemp market is expected to grow at 25% CAGR reaching US$ 27 billion by 2028. It aims to be a contender in this segment.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£200,000
A fishing gear developer helping fishers increase their catch rate whilst protecting marine life caused by current fishing practices. Fishtek has produced 4 products to function alongside existing fishing gear and is already in use by companies across 35 countries worldwide, with 4 more products currently in the development stage. Investment is sought to further develop, distribute and commercialise these new products.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£900,000
Sauce Shop is a craft condiment brand which offers customers a variety of fresh-tasting, innovative and punchy flavoured sauces. The company's products have received 2000 5-star reviews on their online shop, and total revenue is over £340k (EBITDA -£13.5k - July 2019). The revenue growth of the company is over 100% YOY. The brand is now stocked in Sainsbury's, Harvey Nichols, Whole Foods Market and many independent food retailers across the UK. Its Tomato Ketchup won a 2-star Great Taste Award. The company will use the funds to expand operational capacity, grow its team and to facilitate a move in premises to ensure that they can continue to meet demand.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£254,270
Troubadour is a London-based menswear brand specialising in designing minimalist bags & accessories by combining performance design with a clean & modern aesthetic feel. The company has delivered its products to 60+ wholesalers. It is backed by Pembroke VCT, a luxury-focused venture capital firm based in London. Troubadour is planning to work with non-traditional retailers including Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons, and Equinox. It has also collaborated with many world-renowned brands such as British tailors 'Thom Sweeney' and British essentials brand 'Sunspel' that is famous for clothing James Bond. The company has also been a case study for classes at the Harvard Business School. With the investment, the company will support sales growth to its customers and retail partners and also fund working capital requirements from its forecast growth plan.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£621,240
Gozney specialises in the designing and manufacturing of premium and creative stone & fire ovens for the commercial and home use. The company has invented the world’s first portable stone pizza oven, 'Roccbox' and made $1.2M pre-sales in 45 days. In 2018-19, it has received revenue of £5.4M and EBITDA of £0.2M. Gozney ovens are used by leading restaurant chains including MOD, Franco Manca and many more. Recently, the company has been ranked at No. 12 in the 5th annual Sunday Times WorldFirst SME Export Track 100. Gozney has witnessed a growth of 148% in international sales over the past 2 years. Furthermore, it aims to launch new products and accelerate expansion into overseas territories.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£1,716,200
