Oppo lets you give in to your cravings while staying healthy. Rather than having to choose between healthy or indulgent dessert options, Oppo makes compromising a thing of the past with their low sugar, superfood-rich, delicious ice cream range.
Oppo replaces cream and sugar with virgin coconut oil and stevia leaf and boosts each flavour with delicious superfoods to make an indulgent, premium ice cream. In fact, one portion of Oppo’s premium, indulgent ice cream contains fewer calories than an apple. An apple!
Opportunity Born Out Of Necessity
The idea for Oppo was born during the Summer of 2011 when brothers Charlie and Harry Thuillier travelled to Brazil to break the unofficial world record for the longest distance travelled by kite on land. Having never kited before, food supplies were poorly rationed and quickly ran out. Determined to press on with their journey, the brothers turned to locals who taught them about indigenous superfoods and their nutritional qualities. These foods helped the duo finish their enduring race.
The adventure inspired the brothers. Upon returning home, Charlie left his graduate role at Diageo to dedicate himself full-time to making the most indulgent foods healthy. They were fortunate enough to receive advice from leading industry professionals Gary Martin (who worked on the Haagan Dazs re-brand) and Mark Escolme (MD of Gu Puds).
After myriad tweaks and changes to their recipes, lots of product sampling and months of hard work in Harry’s kitchen, they had achieved what they set out to do.
Strategic Growth And Fundraising
Initial funds to support product development and packaging came from a combination of grants, University innovation investment, and friends and family backing. These funds went a long way, helping the startup launch into 117 Waitrose stores and Ocado.com. As the increasing demand for their products became clear, Charlie and Harry realised that they needed further investment to help them grow. And they took a unique approach to raising investment, deciding to turn down VC investment for the opportunity to reach out to customers, suppliers and consumers, instead:
We actually rejected an offer from a venture capitalist firm and opted for crowdfunding instead, because we really wanted to give both our customers and consumers the chance to own a part of Oppo. We hope that they will in turn share in the growth of the company and be a part of our story rather than passive consumers.
And it looks like Oppo gauged the enthusiasm for crowdfunding their business well, as they reached their initial investment target of £100,000 within hours of going live. To satiate investor demand, they chose to keep their campaign open and reached 300% within just a few days.
Set to capitalise on the increasing trend towards healthy indulgence, the company will use their Seedrs round to fulfil orders, to further grow the team and increase brand awareness in a market estimated to be worth £275m.
Learn more about Oppo Ice Cream and their range of flavours, at oppoicecream.co.uk.
