<div>Welcome to our Go Fund me page.
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<div>We would love to raise £15,000 – it will give our growing business a much-needed boost.
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<div>My partner Keith and I own Plantside, a vegan family company that makes fabulous plant-based Yorkshire puddings and epic Toad in the Hole with THIS isn’t Pork sausages.
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<div>Is it a bit cheeky asking for donations? Some might say yes but also it takes a huge amount of money to start an ethical, vegan brand that is competing against non ethical multinationals.
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<div>We have used all our savings, borrowed from family and worked for way less than minimum wage for years to get this far (we have always paid our staff more than the living wage) We are so close to being able to generate enough income to start paying ourselves the living wage and have some left over to invest in future expansion. We have had 3 large bills all hit at the same time and we need a little extra help get through a sticky patch.
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<div>We are 100% committed to donating the amount we raise through go fund me back to charity once we hit profitability. From that point on will donate 2% of our yearly profits every Christmas to animal &amp; climate change charities
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<div>How did it all happen?
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<div>I originally made the recipe to serve with roast dinners at our vegan café. They were so popular that customers kept asking to buy extra to take home. Then people started emailing asking us to post them some – we couldn’t believe it, but also it was never something we planned to do, we have had to learn fast!
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<div>Within a few months I was making over 1000 a week in a tiny kitchen around café opening hours (whilst also working full time in the café). The oven we had could only cook 18 at a time. It was a real labour of love but a bit of a nightmare.
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<div>We realised there was a massive gap in the market, and from that moment on we were 100% committed to making the transition from an accidental business to a national one, even though at times it was painfully hard. Over the last 3 years we’ve used all we have, worked hundreds of unpaid hours and missed out on many a celebration to make our customers’ Yorkie &amp; Toad in the Hole dreams come true.
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<div>In 2022 we invested in a much larger oven that could cook 70 Yorkies or Toads at a time but quickly realised two things. Firstly, we didn’t have enough storage space – Yorkies everywhere!
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<div>And secondly after a couple of months the new oven still wasn’t big enough.
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<div>In December 2023, with help from family and all our savings, we moved to an industrial production unit. We applied for a grant that provided 50% of the cost of our giant (second hand) oven. It can cook 240 delicious Yorkshire puddings or Toad in the Hole at a time. We hired two members of staff and can now make thousands a day. Last month we used the remainder of our capital to purchase a second-hand walk-in freezer that can hold 4.5 pallets of stock.
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<div>It’s all very exciting and we are immensely proud of how much we have achieved in a short space of time. However, there is a downside that comes with the increased sales – by the end of each shift we start to get RSI in our hands. Realising the current production method can’t carry on long-term we did some research and discovered the Unifiller Ispot batter depositor – it is brilliant and exactly what we need. The dispenser nozzle is lightweight, easy to use and will speed up manufacture. It will also reduce waste as precise volumes can be set – unlike the current guess by eye method. A new one costs nearly £11,000 but fortunately we have discovered a second hand one locally that, with the addition of an air compressor, could be ours for £5000 – result!
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<div>Our products are currently listed with 4 wholesalers – Mighty Plants, Essential Trading, CLF and Forest produce. In order to expand further we need to gain SALSA certification - Safe And Local Supplier Approval.
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<div>This certification provides reassurance to national retailers and supermarket chains that we comply with all the food safety regulations. It is an intensive programme that requires specialist guidance. We have had 3 quotes and they are all in the region of £5000. We need to have this certification before we can get listed with larger distributors.
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<div>The final £5000 will be used to purchase our beautiful eco-friendly compostable packaging boxes. Sustainability is close to our hearts. We are 100% committed to making our business as sustainable as possible. We could sell our products in cheap plastic packaging, but our consciences won’t let us. Instead, we have gone with biodegradable/home compostable bio laminated cardboard boxes, which are fantastic. Unfortunately there is a cost to this – If we order 1000 boxes they are £1.10 each, if we order 5000 they are only 64p but we need the capital to place the higher volume orders.
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<div>Having spent 25 years in hospitality it has been a steep learning curve jumping into the world of food production. Getting our heads around making a product that we can sell at a price that allows both wholesalers and retailers to add on their cut has been really hard. The difference in box pricing seems small, however it is almost 20% of the price we are paid by wholesalers. It makes a huge difference.
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<div>Laying all our cards on the table.
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<div>We have a strategic plan – we need to raise £15,000 asap – this will streamline production and give cost savings that will create a strong base from which we will jump to the next level. We will also be able to start paying ourselves minimum wage, currently as owners we take virtually no wages and both work other jobs to support ourselves.
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<div>In 6-12 months’ time we will be seeking £60,000 angel investment/crowd funding with equity. This, combined with all profit, will allow us to double our current production capabilities, creating 3 additional full time job opportunities in production, sales and marketing.
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<div>In 18-24 months’ time we will be looking for £220,000 of investment. This will allow us to move to a production unit 3 times our current size, trebling our workforce. We will keep our current unit and use it for the production of certified gluten free products, removing the current cross-contamination issues.
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<div>Once the new facility is working at full capacity within 3 years we will generate enough profit to open a fully automated line. This will allow us to move from ‘premium hand-made’ into the ‘available to all’ range, increasing sales volume from 60,000 yorkie/toads per week to over 600,000.
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<div>(We have the all the calculations to confirm this, please contact us via our website to request a copy)
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<div>We also have additional products in development – dauphinoise potatoes and our delicious signature gravy.
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<div>It is absolutely insane how far we have come. It blows our minds every day, but there is also so much further we can go. With your help we know we can make the transformation from small regional producer to being a mighty household name, lying in freezers throughout the land, next to the Aunty who shall not be named. Vegans will be able to buy with confidence, knowing their money is not going to multinational animal exploiters.
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<div>We would be eternally grateful if you could spare a few pounds or more if you can.
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<div>We also completely get that times are tough and we feel you, a share on the socials would be just as blooming wonderful.
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<div>Peas, love and gravy.
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<div>Anna &amp; Keith XX
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Amanda Wilson

Bobby and Blue Fereday

Edwina Lashbrook

ria rodrigues

joanna gould

Justine Hamer

Anonymous

Julia Wilson

Catherine Cain

Richard Chivers

Dan Marshall

Steve Powell

Sada Yoga

Marianne Kavanagh

Natasha Richmond

Heather Wilson

kirsten ross

Chloe Lashbrook

sam evison

Plantside Business Boost

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

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English only

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Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

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Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

UC Tipping v20250115 International

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Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

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Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

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Stream Notification

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

NPO upsell education category

unclaimed charities

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AI Chatbot Audience

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UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

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Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

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Thank you V3 testing whitelist

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NPO upsell essential needs category

NPO upsell medical category

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Localized Currency

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v11.5.0 and above

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Survicate

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PYMK has donors

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Plantside Business Boost

Still £13,375 to go. Help us build momentum.