Tossed are on a mission to put the fun back into healthy eating. To celebrate their ten year anniversary, Tossed decided to give their loyal guests, passionate team and long-term suppliers a chance to invest in the business they helped to grow. We spoke to Tossed’s finance director, Neil Sebba, who led their campaign to find out more about why they think their campaign was so successful.
Although you may associate equity crowdfunding with early-stage businesses, a growing number of established brands that have an existing base of supporters and customers are using our platform to raise funds. After ten years of trading in and around London, Tossed were looking for an alternative way to raise additional capital for business expansion (to supplement their existing growth banking solution). Coinciding with the launch of their first store in Dubai, they saw an opportunity to get their guests more involved in their growth plans via equity crowdfunding. “As a consumer-facing brand, we saw equity crowdfunding as a perfect way for our suppliers, guests and team to feel part of Tossed by owning a share themselves.”
After researching the various crowdfunding platforms, Seedrs’s solution was the obvious choice. “We met the Seedrs team and immediately got on with them. It was clear that they offered the best & most professional platform that would meet our fundraising needs.”
The Tossed team wrangled with how much they would look to raise on the platform for a while. “We wanted to set a target which was achievable but meaningful to the business and presented a challenge to us to raise. Combined with existing funds, a £750,000 raise would allow us to secure at least four more stores in itself.” With investments starting at just £12.33, anyone who wanted to be a part of Tossed’s growth was able to get involved in their crowdfunding campaign. “We didn’t set a minimum investment over our £12.33 share price as it would contradict what we were trying to achieve, which was to welcome as many new shareholders as possible.”
Strategically, Tossed wanted their guests (and potential new guests) to invest in the business as a way to earn a reward for their loyalty. They also wanted to give investors a bit more than just shares in exchange for investment; so they offered really appealing perks to further engage with people who already like the brand. Tossed offered a 20% discount for a year for those who invested £200 or more, and those who invested £5,000 or more received 50% off of each purchase during the life of their investment. Sebba said, “We heard from some of our regular guests that they invested £200 because they would end up saving money over a year from the 20% discount, as well as shares. I think we got the balance on the perks about right.”
So what did Tossed learn during their experience crowdfunding? “The biggest piece of advice I’d give to anyone thinking about running an equity crowdfunding campaign is to know what you’re getting yourself in to. You need to be able to answer all of your investor’s queries in a timely fashion, get the funding target and pricing right and promote the campaign to as many relevant people as possible. And do your homework. The platform is a marketplace and it’s up to you to make yourself stand out and appeal to your target investors.”
The hard work paid off and Tossed overfunded by 169% raising £1,269,830 in around a month and a half. Not only did these funds help them begin building new stores, but they are also now renegotiating their banking arrangements because of the injection of cash and customers. You can keep up to date with their progress and find a location near you at tosseduk.com
Looking to raise funds for your business? or thinking about investing in a hospitality business? Visit our raise section or view our current campaigns today!
