Gresham House Ventures has made a £1.2mn follow-on investment into plant-based ice cream business NORTHERN BL°C as the business continues to see rapid growth.
Made on behalf of the Mobeus VCTs, the investment will enable NORTHERN BL°C to relocate to a new, larger site in its home city of Leeds, supporting its aim to become the UK’s number one plant-based ice cream brand with the business having almost tripled its sales in the last three years.
NORTHERN BL°C commenced its move into the former Bagel Nash production site on North Street in Leeds on 19th July.
First, it will convert the existing facilities into a purpose-built ice creamery and – by the end of the summer – fully relocate its expanded production facility and office-based sales and marketing team.
Production will begin immediately. The site will eventually be home to a factory shop and will host street party-style events.
The Gresham House Ventures team previously invested in NORTHERN BL°C in January 2021, which enabled the business to expand its team and production capacity.
Whilst the business’ growth is primarily from its plant-based range, available in retailers such as Waitrose, Co-op and Ocado and out-of-home venues including the National Trust and Wagamama, NORTHERN BL°C continues to produce dairy products too, which can be found in tourist attractions and theatres across the country.
It has also recently added a premium, soft serve plant-based ice cream to its out of home range, known as THE WHiP! by NORTHERN BL°C.
Giles Whitman, Portfolio Director at Gresham House Ventures said:
“We are delighted to be supporting the continued growth of such a pioneering brand. NORTHERN BL°C’s commitment to plant-based and naturally, responsibly sourced ingredients strongly aligns with our focus on sustainability and we’re excited to see what possibilities the new premises will bring.”
Co-founder and director at NORTHERN BL°C, Josh Lee added:
“In 2021, NORTHERN BL°C experienced 80% growth in turnover as out-of-home accounts started to come back from the pandemic in a strong position. We also won new out-of-home accounts and our retail business bloomed. Our first round of investment enabled us to be able to quickly and effectively fulfil this demand and we’re excited to see what the next year brings, on the back of this second investment.
We can’t wait to open our doors to the public at our new site and introduce more people to the world of NORTHERN BL°C.”
Read more about our investment into NORTHERN BL°C
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