Edinburgh vegan and gluten-free food firms get funding to expand

Two Edinburgh businesses producing healthy foods have received a combined £75,000 in loan funding to further their growth.
Planet Kuku directors Mateusz Noniewicz and Maria Janowczyk started the food business from their home kitchen.Planet Kuku directors Mateusz Noniewicz and Maria Janowczyk started the food business from their home kitchen.
Planet Kuku directors Mateusz Noniewicz and Maria Janowczyk started the food business from their home kitchen.

Vegan food producer Planet Kuku has been supported by DSL Business Finance, enabling the family-run business to relocate to new premises and increase production by 400 per cent.

Meanwhile, allergen-free food company Saltire Coconuts, trading as Calvin’s Free From Foods, has been awarded a loan from DSL to allow the business to scale up production of its vegan and gluten-free coconut flatbread rolls, along with other products.

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Planet Kuku directors Mateusz Noniewicz and Maria Janowczyk started the business from their home kitchen. They produce a plant-based frittata that uses fresh herbs and vegetables bound together with chickpea flour and cold pressed Scottish rapeseed oil.

Noniewicz said: “We applied for the loan after we learned that we had outgrown our shared kitchen and would no longer have access to it in 2020. The funding from DSL couldn’t have come at a better time, it created an incredible opportunity for us.”

Saltire Coconuts owner Sabine Klaus-Carter was inspired to start the business by her son Calvin, who suffers from multiple severe food allergies.

She said: “Originally, I just developed the coconut breads so our son Calvin could have something to safely eat for breakfast and on the go. However, our coconut breads received overwhelmingly positive feedback from our toddler friends and their families.

“While my research showed that there was a gap in the market for my products, I also learned that in order to scale up production and create an efficient workflow, I would require my own specialist machines.”

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