Cauli Rice campaign becomes 50th round to top £1m on Crowdcube

Health food brand Cauli Rice is celebrating the close of a £1.4m funding round on equity crowdfunding platform Crowdcube – the 50th campaign to attract £1m investment through the platform.

Surpassing an initial target of £400,000 within one week, Cauli Rice’s fourth crowdfunding round saw the business secure just over £1.4m from 974 backers in exchange for a share of the 15.23% equity stake offered.

Launched in 2015 by Gem Misa and Jamie Harris (pictured), Cauli Rice is a cauliflower-based “low-calorie”, “low-GI” alternative to rice. According to the business, 2016 alone saw 1.2 million pouches of the product sold, with listings gained in over 2,800 UK supermarkets.

The brand, which was named by Sir Richard Branson as one of the UK’s hottest new food start-ups in 2015, is looking to use the funding raised to start exporting its products internationally.

Luke Lang, co-founder of Crowdcube, commented:

“The surge in venture-backed businesses raising finance on Crowdcube illustrates how dramatically the funding landscape has changed in recent years and how crowdfunding, which greatly complements traditional sources of finance, is now the predominant way of raising finance in the UK.”

Misa added: “We’re over the moon at the results of our latest fundraise. […] We would not be anywhere without the power of the crowd and we are incredibly appreciative of that.”