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ByRuby

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Seriously Special Hand Made Food sold online & via retail stores

232%
 - 
Funded 23 Dec 2020
£125,000 target
£291,111 from 191 investors
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Business overview

Location London, United Kingdom
Social media
Website byruby.co.uk
Sectors Food & Beverage Mixed Digital/Non-Digital Mixed B2B/B2C
Company number 10767605
Incorporation date 12 May 2017
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Investment summary

Type Equity
Valuation (pre-money) £1.7M
Equity offered 14.82%
Tax relief

EIS

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Business highlights

  • Winner of Best Startup in Great British Food Awards
  • Listing of 17 product lines at Wholefoods
  • 200% increase in sales online in March
  • Turnover increase of 50% year 1-2*
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Key features

  • Secondary Market
  • Nominee investment min. £11.04 +

Idea

Introduction

SERIOUSLY SPECIAL HAND MADE FOOD, THAT'S WHAT BYRUBY IS ALL ABOUT

With the frozen food market growing at a rate of 8.8% annually and UK ready meal sales worth £12 billion in 2020 the market is huge, we are in the perfect position to grow. In March our sales were up 200% online compared to the previous month.

30% of people identify as 'Flexitarian' and our menu reflects this way of eating less but better quality meat and fish. The British public is beginning to think more ethically about their food and its provenance. We only use British free-range or organic meat & sustainably sourced fish from British waters. Our vegetables are delivered fresh from Covent Garden Market every morning. Our menu is varied to appeal to broad tastes and dietary requirements

However much of a foodie you are, you sometimes just don't have the time to cook. At ByRuby we use ingredients you can trust so you can eat seriously special food at home byRuby

Substantial accomplishments to date

May 2017
Ruby & Milly met Finns, Chelsea and began to see demand for frozen food increase

November 2017
We took on our commercial kitchen in Acton, West London and got busy with preparing our seriously special meals.

May 2018
We launched ByRuby online

October 2018
We won Women's Heath Food Award - Hooray!

Late 2018 / Early 2019
Began to see interest from farm shops and retailers so made the most of this market

September / October 2019
Accepted onto NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator program and Virgin Crowdboost Accelerator

2019 / 2020
Press coverage in Daily Mail / Daily Telegraph / Metro / Great British Food / Sheerluxe and more

February 2020
Link with Young Foodies Funding and pitch event

March 2020
Sales up 200% online

May 2020
Turnover up 50% from year 1 to year 2*

October 2020
Rebrand & launch of our new website. New packaging and branded freezers for retailers so we stand out better on the shelf. Winner of Best Startup in Great British Food Awards - HOORAY!

November 2020
Launch with Wholefoods

November 2020
5,000 online customers and stocked in 26 retail stores - new accounts incoming for small scale chains

THE FUTURE
To grow our online presence through pushing our new subscription model & marketing our already proven concept

To have presence in multiple farm shops / garden centres / delis & to become a household name for quality, convenience & taste

We have a book deal with Octopus Publishing which will be published June 2021

*based on unaudited management accounts

Monetisation strategy

DIRECT TO CONSUMER currently 70% of business

Online sales via our website - We manufacture and send our products direct to customers' homes

Average order value online is £68.00
Customer lifetime value is £225.00

WHOLESALE TO RETAIL currently 30% of business

We sell to a growing number of retail outlets and businesses from farm shops to small scale chains. We also sell to companies who use our meals to support the wellness of their staff

Average order value across wholesale channels is currently £435 - we believe this will increase considerably with larger accounts and pallet quantities

The market for pre-prepared meals is HUGE and 72% of shoppers are looking for healthier food options with less salt, fat and sugar. We not only fill this gap but also appeal to those who are busy with an ethical conscience

Use of proceeds

50% MARKETING

Online
We need to invest in marketing to build our sales and brand. We are completely set up in our kitchen, have brilliant new packaging and website, we are ready to grow. We have trialled Facebook ads with great success so are ready to push this. We need to invest in better creative to support our adverts

Wholesale
As our brand grows we will have more demand from retailers and will need to service this demand with in store points of sale, branded freezers etc.

26% PEOPLE

With increased demand from online orders we will need to grow our kitchen team. We will need sales resource to make the most of the prospective wholesale clients as well as back up from financial and accounts perspective

17% KITCHEN

Our kitchen is well set up but we will need to make efficiencies with kitchen and packing equipment as we grow

7% NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
We are always innovating and will need to keep our range interesting and always evolving

Investor rewards

Key Information

Outstanding debt

The company has the following outstanding loans:

1. £50,000 loan from family of the founder at an interest rate of 6% per annum. The loan will only be repaid or converted into shares once the company has reached breakeven.

2. £50,000 loan Virgin StartUps at an interest rate of 6% per annum. The loan is to be repaid over the next 5 years.

3. £35,000 Bounce Back loan, interest-free for 12 months, and 2.5% thereafter. This is to be repaid over 60 monthly instalments starting in May 2021.

The funds raised from this investment round will not be used to repay these loans.

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If you successfully purchase a share lot of this business, you will be granted access.

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Only shareholders can access this page

If you successfully purchase a share lot of this business, you will be granted access.

Buy shares

Only shareholders can access this page

If you successfully purchase a share lot of this business, you will be granted access.

Buy shares

Investing involves risks, including loss of capital, illiquidity, lack of dividends and dilution, and should be done only as part of a diversified portfolio. Please read the Risk Warnings before investing. Investments should only be made by investors who understand these risks. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and is subject to change in future.

This campaign for ByRuby has been approved by Seedrs Limited (trading as Republic Europe) ("Republic Europe", "us" or "we"), as of 17 November 2020 as a financial promotion. Republic Europe is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority with firm reference number 550317. In approving this campaign, Republic Europe has concluded that the information, taken as a whole, is "fair, clear and not misleading." This means that for factual statements we have reviewed evidence of their accuracy, and that for aspirational statements we believe they are phrased appropriately in light of their speculative nature. You should note that in the case of factual statements, the evidence we review is provided by the business, and we do not audit it, which means that we may not be able to identify forged or altered evidence. You should further note that in the case of aspirational statements, the nature of the type of businesses presented on the Republic Europe platform is such that they are likely to have high ambitions, and we may approve statements that convey those ambitions even where we do not believe, or we do not have a view on whether it is likely, that they will be fully realised. The pre-money valuation and investment sought in the campaign are those set by the business: they are not reviewed or established by us, and the valuation is not an independent view of what the business is worth. Given the nature and type of businesses presented on the Republic Europe platform, it is possible that the business has very little cash remaining prior to receiving this investment, and the investment sought may be necessary for the business's on-going existence.

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Tax Relief (SEIS)

This business is eligible for SEIS relief - providing qualifying investors with income tax relief of 50% of their investment and certain other tax reliefs. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and is subject to change in future. Click to learn more.

Tax Relief (EIS)

This business is eligible for EIS relief - providing qualifying investors with income tax relief of 30% of their investment and certain other tax reliefs. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and is subject to change in future. Click to learn more.

Valuation (pre-money)

Valuation rounded from £1,673,151

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It is calculated as the pre-money valuation plus the amount of new investment. e.g. If Company A is ascribed a pre-money valuation of £1,200,000 by prospective investors investing £300,000, its post-money valuation is £1,500,000.

The investee business is responsible for setting its own valuation, it has not been prescribed by Seedrs.

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Secondary market

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Business Involvement

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We are not able to accept Pay by Bank payments for investments into this sector. You can pay for your investment with a card payment, by creating a bank transfer or by using funds in your investment account. Your investment will only be completed once the funds have reached our account.

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