We’re on a mission to make the nation snack better!
Business overview
Location | London, United Kingdom |
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Social media | |
Website | www.emilycrisps.com |
Sectors | Food & Beverage Non-Digital B2B |
Company number | 8713679 |
Incorporation date | 1 Oct 2013 |
Learn more about convertible campaigns.
Idea
Introduction.
Emily Crisps is a different kind of snack company. Founded by Emily Wong and Ale Ascani, who've travelled the world in search of good food, we passionately believe that eating healthier and more conveniently should never involve compromising on taste or accepting yet another heavily processed snack that has been smashed, mashed, extruded or popped. Life is too short for empty calories and fad diets, and eating, like all great experiences in life, should always be a joy even when we're on the go. Made using only the best whole fruit and veg using an innovative low temperature pressure cooking method, our crisps are probably one of the crunchiest and tastiest ways to get 1 of your 5 a day. Our products are also gluten free, vegan, kosher and halal certified.
Convertible Details
The key terms for the convertible instrument differ slightly from standard convertibles on Seedrs. Please see the Key Terms document attached under Documents. In summary:
Conversion will take place:
- on a Qualifying Fund Raising, being an equity raise of £500,000 or more (from one or a series of transactions and not including the funds raised under the convertible), at a 20% discount to the price paid by investors in the Qualifying Fund Raising.
- if no Qualifying Fund Raising has occurred, on the Longstop Date, being 12 months from the date the convertible instrument is signed (this will be after the close of the campaign, once all documentation has been finalised and signed). Conversion on the Longstop Date will occur at a valuation of 3 x revenue over the preceding 12 months, discounted by 30%.
- on an insolvency event, change of control or IPO occurs prior to either of the above events, conversion will automatically trigger at a price per share of £2.806 (which places a pre-money valuation on the company of £5,328,277 based on the current capitalisation structure).
There is no valuation cap on this convertible instrument.
Intended impact.
Snacking is almost a universal habit with 96% of the UK population snacking and some also doing so regularly as an alternative to traditional meals. Growing urbanisation, busy lifestyles, and the increased preference for snacking on-the-go are helping to drive demand especially for crisps which remain by far the most popular snack in the UK, accounting for over £1.1bn a year in sales within a snacking category that was worth approximately £2.85bn in 2017.
While crisps continue to sell, there is a growing demand for healthier and more exciting options. Shareholder and bottom line pressure can mean large firms who dominate this space neither have the flexibility nor credibility to meet growing demands for real quality and innovation. Being a small company that is honest and passionate about everything we do, we are able to experiment and push boundaries and to respond immediately to consumer feedback which gives us an advantage in this space and benefits consumers looking to make better choices.
Substantial accomplishments to date.
2014.
- UK launch of our fruit crisps.
- First listing with a major retailer - Selfridges.
- Rapid growth within the independent channel securing listings with retailers such as Harrods, Whole Foods and distributors such as Marigold, DDC and Cotswold Fayre.
2015.
- First listing with Waitrose.
- Listing with Ocado.
- First listing in Google's office canteen.
- First listing in hotel channel with The Berkeley, Claridge's and The Connaught.
- Won our first Great Taste Award.
2016.
- Listing with first airline partner Virgin Atlantic followed by British Airways and Qatar Airways.
- Listing with Foodbuy/Compass.
- First round investment secured.
- Women's Health & Fitness Healthy Food & Drink Award.
- Quality Food Award -Winner of the Small Producer Category.
2017.
- Listing with Bidfood.
- Listing with Boots.
- Launch of veg crisps range.
- Launched in Coles across Australia.
- Won International Snack D'Or prize for snacking category.
- 3 Great Taste Awards.
- Grocer New Product Award, Runner Up for the 'Crisps' category.
- Feature snack at Pitch @ the Palace (Buckingham Palace).
2018.
- Launch of sweet potato sticks range.
- Listing with Sainsburys and Tesco.
- Grocer New Product Award, shortlisted for 2 skus out of 4 under Crisps category.
- Exclusive snack partner for London Fashion Week.
- Snack partner for TED Talks.
- With our current listings, we are available in thousands of stockists across the UK.
Monetisation strategy.
Our business strategy is based on a multichannel route to market model (primarily B2B via distributors and direct to retailer) which aims to accelerate the growth of revenue, brand awareness and market share in the snack food category.
Grocery currently makes up for nearly 50% of our revenue with Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Tesco being our largest customers. We also have a growing footprint in catering & food service (Bidfood & Compass), retail (Boots & WH Smith), travel & leisure (airlines& hotels).
Our brand name is trademarked in several strategic markets globally including the US and EU which allows the company significant opportunity to extend the brand, an important part of future growth. At present, our largest international markets are Australia, Ireland and the Nordics. Our aim is to launch in the US in 2019.
Use of proceeds.
We've reached a critical stage in the UK, having secured major listings and establishing cross channel national distribution. The challenge now is to make a significant investment in growing rates of sale, market share and penetration by professionalising the team and investing more significantly in marketing activities such as sampling, events and trade shows, especially in support of our new sweet potato sticks line which offers a more mainstream proposition which will be the engine for the growth of the business. We have recently appointed an industry leader as our new Marketing Director who is an expert in shopper insight, experience and category management to drive the strategy and execution.
Professionalising the team will also allow the founders to begin working on the US launch strategy which we see as a major market for expansion in 2019.
Breakdown for Proceeds:.
Staff costs - 30%.
Marketing activities - 70%.
Market
Target market.
Our ultimate goal is to be a premium brand that appeals across consumer segments but at this early stage our market is narrowly defined to target health conscious and affluent shoppers who are the early adopters and influencers amongst their peer groups.
Our consumer is time poor, adventurous, health and taste conscious. They may or may not have families (both with young kids or kids who have flown the nest) and a majority are urban professionals. While our base is female, we also appreciate there is a growing number of men who hold the same values and interests so it's important we don't alienate this group or others as the mission of the company is to inspire all people to eat more fruit and veg.
Up till now our consumer base and marketing activity has largely been concentrated in London and the South East however with recent nationwide listings in major grocers, our plan is to significantly increase our growth and investment in regions right across the UK in 2018-19.
Characteristics of target market.
The combined market size of the group we target, broadly defined as 'affluent and adventurous', 'healthy and wealthy' and 'young families on the go', gives us a market size of 17.8m individuals in the UK alone. They are mainly concentrated in the South of the UK and in and around urban centres across the country.
Authenticity and brand values are as important as the functional aspects (such as 1 of your 5 a day) of our products. As early adopters, our consumers are interested in innovation but are loyal to brands they can trust, love and believe in. They are also shoppers who generally prefer to top up shop and frequently eat meals outside the home so it's absolutely key we have several retail and grocery touch points especially at impulse and quick service locations.
Marketing strategy.
Our strategy is driven by 3 engines:.
i) Standout through bold design, point of sale advertising and tactical locations in store. As a start up with a limited budget, being bold and vibrant was important from day one to both inspire as well as have people take notice. We never just wanted to be a niche brand politely sitting on shelf in health food shops but always wanted to earn our place in high footfall locations with bold and beautiful branding that excites and redefines how people view healthier snacking.
ii) Selective partnering with key influencers: people and locations. Establishing a brand that is at it's heart about being healthier, honest, adventurous and tasty means that it matters where we are sold and who are our advocates.
iii) Sampling, sampling, sampling...whether through free giveaways or shallow promotions, research shows that this is an effective conversion strategy. Because taste is our strongest USP, when people try our product they buy it.
Competition strategy.
Recent data supports the point that 'healthier' snacking has truly moved into the mainstream with wellness becoming a main driver of consumer decision-making, driving 27% growth y/y for vegetable crisps alone in 2017. When confronted with the option more people are switching in healthier alternatives more often.
With that in mind, we view our competition more in terms of occasion than product specification as it's our goal to capture a material proportion of the £2.85bn snacking market in the UK alone including going head to head with traditional crisps.
Against 'healthier' competitors we have a significant advantage as a brand that's not reliant on current fads in diet but which focuses on promoting eating more whole fruit and veg, one of the few trends which we think is sustainable and will only grow significantly in the long term. Our most important USP however is the 'tastiness' that appeals to a wide segment of the population which we feel few 'healthier' brands can claim to deliver.
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