Pollen + Grace Launches Crowdfunding Campaign Ahead Of UK Supermarket Launch

LONDON, United Kingdom — Healthy food-to-go brand Pollen + Grace has launched a crowdfunding campaign via Seedrs ahead of its launch into UK supermarket giants Tesco and Co-op.

From May 2019, the natural food brand will expand into 50 Co-op supermarkets across the South of England, including London. Its products will also be available in 55 Tesco stores within Greater London.

Ahead of the milestone launches, the startup has embarked on a crowdfunding campaign to support its mission of becoming the most trusted healthy food brand in the UK and beyond. It is currently listed as one of the top three campaigns on Seedrs having already secured over half of its £350,000 target.

“We’ve come a long way from when we first started up and the market wasn’t suited to those with food intolerances or anyone who simply wanted to be healthier without compromising on taste and quality,” commented Co-Founders Kristina Komlosiova and Stephanie Johnson.

“Now, as awareness and desire for these types of products has grown so voraciously, we feel well-positioned to successfully capture it. We had an extremely successful 2018; making and distributing 250,000 products, and we are looking forward to an even better year in 2019, kicking off with our first ever equity crowdfunding round,” they added.

Launched in 2015, Pollen + Grace has grown from a modest lunch delivery service to a nationwide brand. Today, its products can be found on the shelves of retailers including Whole Foods, WHSmith and Ocado. In addition, its branded products are stocked in offices such as Google, HSBC and Deloitte through Compass Group.

Having scaled in line with the explosion of the wellness industry, the brand which currently produces a range of 17 ready meals and snacks made from 100% natural ingredients, claims to have seen its sales increase by 43% in 2019. And aims to turn a profit by the end of the year.

Following the completion of its crowdfunding campaign, Pollen + Grace plans on overhauling its branding and transitioning its packaging towards an eco-friendlier solution.

The brand says it has spent almost a year researching the best materials and resources to help it reduce its carbon footprint, and will be launching compostable packaging for its Ambient range in Q3 2019. The team is also looking at using recycled material for its labelling.

In the meantime, the cash injection will be used to support its latest stage of growth and bolster its ambition to make “free-from” natural options readily available to all by encouraging supermarkets to move away from the over-processed, under-nutritious world of prepared food.