Crowdfunded Business of the Year 2018

Start-up name: Mindful Chef
Founders: Robert Grieg-Gran, Giles Humphries, and Myles Hopper
Started in: 2016
Based in: London
Business description: The ethical food venture catering to meat-eaters, pescatarians, vegetarians and vegans

Mindful Chef was founded by three friends – Robert Grieg-Gran, Giles Humphries, and Myles Hopper – after watching villagers line up to buy freshly caught fish on the Devon coast.

The trio wanted to give consumers across the country this same access to fresh and sustainable produce and settled upon a recipe box model, sending subscribers weekly boxes with pre-proportioned ingredients.

The business got off the ground after raising £1m in just 11 days in a crowdfunding round in July 2016. It went on to smash that in a subsequent round last year, closing at £2m in just 12 days. This is why it’s the deserving winner of Crowfunded Business of the Year 2018.

Despite stiff competition from the like of Gusto and Hello Fresh, Mindful Chef has successfully carved out a niche in the recipe box market and has now shipped more than one million meals to over 30,000 customers

As well as being environmentally conscious, the brand partnered with food charity One Feeds Two at the end of 2017. This donates one school meal to a child living in poverty for every meal sold. To date it has donated over 600,000 and is aiming to reach one million.

Mindful Chef looks after its employees too: paid days off for charity work, subsidised gym membership, flexible working, and complimentary cooked breakfast and lunch.

It is a certified B Corp for meeting rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency. Its next goal is to become 100% plastic-free. Currently, 90% of its packaging is recyclable.

Mindful Chef faced off Tutorful (highly commended) and Goodbox (commended) to take the top spot, which have raised £1.4m and £500,000 in crowdfunding respectively.