Orders ramp up for vegan foods

About the business

Sgaia Foods began selling its own plant-based meat in 2015 and now creates a variety of vegan meat products. Founders Hilary Masin and Alberto Casotto hope that trying their tasty Mheat will encourage more people to move towards a vegan lifestyle. By 2017, the Renfrewshire business already had over 50 stockists and a deal to supply every Whole Foods Market store in the UK.

“Our Scottish customers have literally propelled us to a whole new world,” says Hilary. “We’ve gone from making these products in our kitchen at home, to having three units in an industrial complex in Paisley. We’ve sent pallets to New Zealand and we’re stocked widely across the UK, including in some prominent London retailers. We’re also working with some great restaurant partners.”

How Business Gateway has helped

Hilary and Alberto have had support from Business Gateway Renfrewshire in several areas. The pair received help to identify sources of funding that would let them scale up production to meet demand, plus exporting advice. Business Gateway’s links to other sources of support have also proved useful.

“Thanks to Business Gateway, we met our current mentor, who has completely changed our perception of business management and helps us keep on top of things as the business grows rapidly,” says Hilary. “We couldn’t be more grateful to Business Gateway for this as we don’t know where we would be now without that support.”

What’s next?

Sgaia Foods produces steaks, burgers and rashers, cheeses and charcuterie packs. Hilary and Alberto want to continue to grow and share their foods with as many people as possible. As part of this, they plan to turn their focus to securing suppliers within the catering industry.