French vegan group spreads is gallic roots in UK with plant-based food | City & Business | Finance

La Vie launched in the UK 12 months ago and its products are available at Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Planet Organic and Ocado. As part of its growth plans, chief executive Nicolas Schweitzer said it is working to secure listings with other major supermarkets, such as Tesco.

It is also looking to raise €1million (£860,000) from investors using crowdfunding website Crowdcube to fund new product development and research. The fundraising round will close at the end of September.

Since it was founded in  2019, La Vie has raised more than £21million from venture capital groups such as Seventure and Bleu Capital, as well as angel investors like Star Wars and Black Swan actress Natalie Portman.

Schweitzer said La Vie “might one day go public” and stage a stock market flotation. The group is also looking at supplying restaurant chains such as Burger King and ready meal producers.

Schweitzer added that while its focus is on the UK and Europe, it has ambitions to expand further:

“We have the potential to be a global brand.”