Vegan founded

Plant-based start-ups you need on your radar

This month’s founder: Scott McCulloch The Vegan Kind (TVK)

UK

My vegan story

I went vegan in early 2013. Karris (other TVK founder/also wife) was veggie and transitioning to vegan — and in short, I joined her on her journey. Being vegetarian for some reason had never clicked with me as something I should do. But learning about the egg and dairy industry was an eye-opener, and joined the dots and gave me a true understanding of what I had been unknowingly participating in.

Early inspiration

Karris and I just wanted to make it easier to go vegan. We knew there was a lot of label-checking back in 2013 — and thought if we could provide a dedicated service where we ship new, exciting products right to people’s doors — we could contribute to the growth of veganism.

Tips for other start-ups

Look after yourself, first and foremost. Setting up a business can be really hard, with long hours and often big challenges along the way. Look after your mental and physical wellbeing as it is all too easy to glue yourself to your laptop.

The best thing about being vegan

I’d say just feeling so confident that being vegan is ‘the right decision’ for so many reasons (animal welfare, climate change, human health). Also knowing that the food we are choosing to eat has up to a 73 per cent reduced carbon footprint than a diet containing meat and dairy.

You’re stranded on an island. What one vegan product/treat would you want with you?

Assuming we have WiFi on the island, I’d say my laptop! I take it everywhere with me. That, or my physical notebook to journal every day.

Fun fact

We are a team of 50 people, and 47 of us are vegan! You don’t have to be vegan to be part of Team TVK, but it is clear to see that we attract amazing people who are aligned in the TVK values and mission.

What’s next

Having now gone through re-brand, the next big thing we are launching is Kind Club — a service where our customers can pay a small monthly fee and get free deliveries each month as well as a discount on over 50 per cent of the items we sell!

“We attract amazing people who are aligned in the TVK mission” values and