Vegan food e-retailer moves into huge Glasgow base with 'world’s biggest vegan fridge'

An online vegan food retailer has trebled the size of its Glasgow base and created more than 20 jobs as demand for non-meat produce booms.

TheVeganKind.com has relocated into a new 35,000 square-foot base in Glasgow.

TheVeganKind.com has relocated into a new 35,000 square-foot base in the city, which includes one of the biggest fridges in the world dedicated solely to storing vegan good.

It is the second time that the company, which is headed up by husband and wife team Scott and Karris McCulloch, has had to upgrade to bigger premises in just two years. In 2018, the firm was based in a warehouse facility stretching to just 3,000 sq ft.

The new refrigerated area will allow the business to hold up to 100,000 chilled vegan products at any one time.

The new base in Glasgow includes what the firm believes is possibly the biggest fridge in the world dedicated solely to retailing vegan goods.

The expansion drive comes amid soaring sales throughout lockdown, as vegan eaters across the UK sought to stock up on their favourite products, delivered straight to their doors.

Scott McCulloch said: “Like most companies around the UK, there was no way we could have predicted the impact that Covid-19 was going to have on our business. But fortunately for us, it’s allowed us to grow much quicker than we ever thought possible.

“We didn’t plan on moving warehouse again so quickly after our last move, but after forecasting the festive period, we quickly realised that the business couldn’t have coped with any more increased demand in its current premises. The new warehouse is huge and will allow us to process so many more orders.”

He added: “It’s been all hands on deck and the entire team have been working tirelessly to pack orders, move sites, and launch our new recipe site, all whilst prioritising the health and safety restrictions brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

“We’ve been busy to say the least, and amongst all of this we’re really happy to have been able to create 21 jobs.”

The new jobs encompass eight full-time and eight part-time warehouse contracts, three additional customer service staff, a creative content designer and a financial director position.

The McCullochs launched TheVeganKind from their living room in 2013 after struggling to find easily accessible vegan options on the high street – with an idea for a monthly subscription box that would make the transition to a vegan lifestyle much easier.

Since March and the start of lockdown restrictions, the firm has shipped more than 70,000 orders to consumers across the UK, and is forecasting an annual turnover of almost £6 million.

Most recently, the company has expanded its arsenal with the launch of a vegan recipe site in collaboration with popular vegan chef Gaz Oakley.

Over the next 12 to 24 months, bosses are planning to build on the firm’s recent successes with an investment round led by PWC Raise and a brand refresh, while formulating plans to launch TheVeganKind’s own range of vegan ready meals.

The company pointed to figures which indicate that there are now more than one million Britons who describe themselves as being vegan, with those numbers on the rise.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive. We are now more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism.

Subscribe to scotsman.com and enjoy unlimited access to Scottish news and information online and on our app. Visit https://www.scotsman.com/subscriptions now to sign up.

By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Joy Yates

Editorial Director