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Honestly Tasty

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Plant-based cheese company with award-winning products available in M&S, Ocado, Honest Burger & more.

123%
 - 
Funded 13 Dec 2023
£250,001 target
£308,370 from 259 investors
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Business overview

Location Enfield, United Kingdom
Social media
Website honestlytasty.co.uk/
Sectors Food & Beverage Non-Digital Mixed B2B/B2C
Company number 11728863
Incorporation date 14 Dec 2018
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Investment summary

Type Equity
Valuation (pre-money) £9.9M
Equity offered 3.02%
Tax relief

EIS

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Business highlights

  • 80K unit sales July - Sept 23, up 5x YoY
  • Available in nearly 1K stores, inc M&S, Holland & Barrett & Ocado
  • Multi-award winning products, used by michelin-starred chefs
  • Nick Canning, (ex MD Iceland) joined the advisory board
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Key features

  • Secondary Market
  • Nominee investment min. £11.58 +
  • Direct investment min. £10,000.00 +

Idea

Introduction

We’re Honestly Tasty, and we make plant-based cheese for people that love cheese, but don’t eat (or are cutting down on) dairy. We bring together fresh thinking with traditional cheese-making techniques, making alternatives that'll get people talking - only this time, for the right reasons!

Back in 2018, our founder Mike gave Veganuary a go - a good go, because it stuck! Woefully disappointed by the vegan cheese on offer, he set about proving that seriously good plant-based cheese is possible. And by combining innovative methods with age-old traditions, through pasteurisation, culturing, rind washing and maturing - we think we've done just that.
Our cheeses have been recommended by reviewers at the likes of BBC, The Evening Standard, The Independent, & Huffington Post:

We've featured in articles by the likes of The Grocer and Vegconomist, and won numerous awards.

And whilst it sounds cheesy, we're chuffed to bits every time we see the recognition! With a growing archive of flattering 5 star reviews, knowing that we make a difference really matters.

Substantial accomplishments to date

• We’re backed by an ex-cheese wholesaler, plant-based VC fund Veg Cap (started by Veganuary’s Matthew Glover) and AllPlants founders

• Our recent awards include 3 Great Taste Awards, The Global Cheese Awards 2023 and PETA’s ‘Best Vegan Cheese’

• You can find us on menus, from pizzerias and pubs to Michelin star restaurants

• Our SALSA accredited production facilities and state of the art machinery support current operations

• Our Award winning (re)brand design gives us better shelf-presence and enabled our entry into M&S

Retail Success (last 12 months)

• November 2022: Trialled across 50 Holland & Barrett stores

• February 2023: Launched 3 products into Ocado

• April 2023: Launched into 166 M&S stores nationwide

• September 2023: Launched ‘own label’ range across 650 Holland & Barrett stores

• October 2023: Increased Ocado range with 4th listing

These listings mean that unit production has grown by more than 5x allowing us to achieve economies of scale and reduce prices, leading to an increase in revenues of 2.5x across the same periods (July - Sept '22 Vs July - Sept '23).

Monetisation strategy

Our core business is the development, production and sale of plant-based cheese.

Market Opportunity:

In 2023, the global vegan cheese market will be valued at $1.4 billion and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 16.7% to 2030. In the UK, 7% of households buy vegan cheese. The demand is being driven by a combination of health, ethical, environmental and taste-related factors and as consumer awareness continues to grow and the quality of vegan cheese improves, it's likely that this trend will persist and even accelerate in the coming years.

• Right now, we’re the only truly artisan vegan cheese available through multiple national retailers

• Wholesalers and national accounts currently make up more than 50% of revenue

• We want to nurture our national retail accounts, grow our food services offering, and expand our presence in independent shops through wholesalers

• Expansion into Food Services is already underway, with our cheeses served at Wimbledon, Silverstone and the NFL earlier this year

Use of proceeds

We plan to use the funds from this round to invest in the following activities:

1. R&D (50%) - investigating improvements to the veining process of our blue cheese, as well as shelf life extensions (through which we aim to enable more wholesaler relationships).

2. Working Capital (20%) - as we have growth in units sold over the last 6 months

3. Equipment & Machinery (20%) - including a metal detection, a new van, and upgrades to our chiller units which drive efficiency savings, and increase food safety

4. Expansion planning 2024 (10%) - enabling us to increase our capacity, capability and to consolidate our premises onto one site

Extra funds would help us accelerate expansion planning and hopefully see us move to larger premises sooner, as well as enabling us to broaden our team.

A portion of the investment reflected in this campaign was received by the Company in the 6 months prior to the launch of the investment round on Seedrs and the Company has started putting this to use.

Key Information

Material Debt & Finance Facilities:

The Company has the following outstanding loans:

1. £13,408 Directors’ loan with an interest rate of 8%. The loan is to be repaid in monthly instalments, with the final repayment due in November 2024.

2. £15,440 Director’s loan with an interest rate of 8%. The loan is to be repaid in monthly instalments, with the final repayment due in August 2025.

3. £100,000 loan from Veg Capital Ltd with an interest rate of 5% and secured against assets. This loan is secured against assets and is to be repaid in a bullet repayment, with the final repayment due by 15th May 2027

4. £26,530 Bounce Back loan from NatWest with an interest rate of 7.25%. The loan is to be repaid in monthly instalments, with the final repayment due in April 2026.

5. £4,709 loan from NatWest with an interest rate of 11.38%. The loan is to be repaid in monthly instalments, with the final repayment due in July 2024.

6. £90,000 family loan with 8% interest rate and no repayment date. This loan is to be repaid when the company is in a sufficient cash position to do so.

7. £150,000 Shareholder Loan facility (of which £125,000 has been drawn down) with interest accruing at a rate of 5% per annum. The loan and any outstanding interest are to be repaid in September 2024, with the intention of renewing this by a further year.

The Company also has the following financing facilities:

1. £3,147 loan in the form of a hire purchase agreement with Lombard for a depositing machine. The loan has an interest rate of 14.25% and is being repaid monthly with a final repayment date of April 2024.

2. £44,000 loan in the form of a hire purchase agreement with DLL for a Tetrapak Mixer. The loan has an interest rate of 5% and is being repaid monthly with a final repayment date of July 2026.

3. £5,115 loan in the form of a hire purchase agreement with Lombard for a dishwasher. The loan has an interest rate of 13.97% and is being repaid monthly with a final repayment date of February 2025.

4. £13,877 loan in the form of a hire purchase agreement with Lombard for cutting machinery. The loan has an interest rate of 12.81% and is being repaid monthly with a final repayment date of September 2024.

5. £19,215 loan in the form of a hire purchase agreement with Societe Generale for a chiller van. The loan has an interest rate of 12% and is being repaid monthly with a final repayment date of July 2024.

6. £4,700 loan in the form of a hire purchase agreement with Lombard for manufacturing machinery. The loan has an interest rate of 12.02% and is being repaid monthly with a final repayment date of September 2025.

7. £7,750 loan in the form of a hire purchase agreement with Novuna for a metal detector. The loan has an interest rate of 12% and is being repaid monthly with a final repayment date of May 2026.

8. £16,145 in the form of a hire purchase agreement with Societe Generale for a chiller van. The loan has an interest rate of 12% and is being repaid monthly with a final repayment date of August 2026.

9. £10,250 loan in the form of a hire purchase agreement with Lombard for manufacturing machinery. The loan has an interest rate of 12.72% and is being repaid monthly with a final repayment date of August 2026.

10. £6,000 loan in the form of a hire purchase agreement with Novuna for a cheese grater. The loan has an interest rate of 12% and is being repaid monthly with a final repayment date of August 2026.

The funds raised as part of this round will not be used to repay these loans.

Investor Perks

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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 Honestly Tasty has been approved by Seedrs Limited (trading as Republic Europe) ("Republic Europe", "us" or "we"), as of 8 November 2023 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.

Republic Europe does not make investment recommendations to you. No communications from Republic Europe, through this website or any other medium, should be construed as an investment recommendation. Further, nothing on this website shall be considered an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security to any person in any jurisdiction to whom or in which such offer, solicitation or sale is unlawful. Republic Europe does not provide legal, financial or tax advice of any kind. If you have any questions with respect to legal, financial or tax matters relevant to your interactions with Republic Europe, you should consult a professional adviser.

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 £9,899,534

This is the fully-diluted pre-money valuation of the business (i.e. before the new investment comes in and including issued options and other equity interests). In contrast, the post-money valuation is based on inclusion of the new investment in the value.

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.

Pitch type

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Equity Offered

The equity offered is the percentage of the company’s shares being issued in return for the amount of investment raised.

When the amount raised is less than 100%, the equity offered is based on the target raise. Once the company has raised over 100% it is based on the total raised.

In some scenarios, entrepreneurs may accept additional direct investment after closing their Seedrs campaign. Provided this is within 6 months of the closing and on the same terms, we do not typically offer pre-emption rights on that extra investment (where you have the opportunity to invest again to maintain your percentage shareholding).

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Nominee investment

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Custodian

If you invest in this Campaign, Seedrs will act as Custodian rather than provide our standard nominee service. This is due to the fact that the business is not directly involved in the share sale and Seedrs will not benefit from any rights under a shareholder agreement. As a result, Seedrs will handle administrative tasks as we do normally, but you will not have information or voting rights, updates from the business, preemption on future fundraising, or ongoing support about business trading activity.

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Secondary market

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Direct investment

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If you choose to hold your shares directly, you will be responsible for any contractual or administrative arrangements with the company you are investing in.

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Payment options

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

Business Involvement

This Campaign offers shares for sale in business that is not directly involved in this Campaign or the sale. As a result, the Campaign and post-investment experience, including investor rights, will differ from a business-led campaign on Seedrs. Most notably, the business will not engage with investors in the discussion forums both during and after the sale or provide any updates to investors.

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Payment options

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.

Drawdowns

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Security Token

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