Husband and wife entrepreneurs Scott and Karris McCulloch, who claim their Rutherglen-based business is the largest online vegan supermarket in the world, have quadrupled their workforce since the start of the pandemic and tripled their sales.
The enterprising couple, who launched their business, TheVeganKind, from their modest two-bedroom flat in Cathcart in 2013, are riding on the crest of two waves: a societal shift away from animal products and towards plant-based meals, and the trend towards online shopping, accelerated by successive lockdowns.
In what has to be one of the most impressive business success stories of the past year, the Rutherglen-based retailer has increased its staff numbers from 15 at the beginning of the pandemic in March, to 60 employees today.
In the first 10 days of 2021, the burgeoning business has increased its revenue five-fold, compared to the same period last year.
TheVeganKind, which occupies a 35,000 sq. ft. hub in Rutherglen’s Ashton Road, boasts the world’s largest vegan fridge, with more than 5,500 100 per cent plant-based products available at a click for next day delivery, seven days a week.
Similar to the online offerings of the UK’s biggest traditional supermarkets, shoppers who visit TheVeganKind site can browse through departments including bakery, cheeses, meat and seafood, milk, butter and eggs, ready meals, snacks and kitchen cupboard staples.
Options extend beyond what’s on your plate. Eco-conscious online customers can also select from laundry, and kitchen and bathroom essentials – and there are even options to buy for guilt-free pet foods, shampoos and accessories.
Discerning cheese lovers can take their pick from more than 200 vegan varieties – including Gouda, Camembert and Halloumi.
For those with a less sophisticated palate, there’s a selection of 100 per cent plant-based plump sausages, juicy burgers, bacon and even black pudding – and co-founder and managing director Scott insists they are just as tasty as their meat-based counterparts.
“The first product we offered was a monthly lifestyle box and people would pay £10 a month, and a box would arrive at their door – and there was always the element of surprise, with new, hard-to-find, interesting products. People told us it was like having a birthday every month,” said Scott.
In addition to key workers within the Rutherglen warehouse, among TheVeganKind employees currently working from home are a head buyer, finance director, a creative content designer, a marketing executive and customer services team members.
Judging by the size of its inventory and the amount of 100 per cent plant-based products it stocks, Scott says he is confident that TheVeganKind is “the biggest online plant-based supermarket on the planet.”
“Even the largest, 100 per cent vegan, plant-based site in the USA is nowhere near the size of us,” he said.
“In the UK, there is no-one who is even half as big as us. I don’t now of anywhere in Canada, and in other parts of the world, veganism is not yet as prevalent.”
When searching for the premises which are now the hub of the business’s operation, Scott and Kerris – who live in the nearby Athlete’s Village with children Casey, aged nine, four-year-old Tyler and a baby due in June – say Rutherglen chose them.
With an increasing variety of emerging products and a stronger appetite for the vegan lifestyle, Scott is confident that the business’s upward spiral will continue.
“Going back seven or eight years ago when we went vegan, taste was a real barrier for people – but that has definitely gone,” said Scott, who says he’s heartened that global leaders – and the next generation of influencers such as eco campaigner Greta Thunberg – are addressing the enormous impact the animal agricultural industry is having on global warming.
The changing appetite for what we choose to put on our plates is also evident among the workforce of TheVeganKind.
Some recruits were non-vegan when they joined the company. But Scott says they changed their eating habits when they realised how easy it is to follow a vegan lifestyle.
Describing his team as the firm’s greatest asset, the local employer assured: “You don’t have to be vegan to work here!”
