Five vegan brands you need to know about

man purchasing items in store
Luis Alvarez/Getty Images
Asher Harris
by Asher Harris
23 November 2020

We're shining a light on some of the wonderful vegan businesses Virgin StartUp has supported. 

Veganism has exploded in popularity in years. According to the Vegan Society, in the UK alone the number of people who identify as vegan has jumped from 150,000 in 2006 to 600,000 in 2018. 

If you’re considering going vegan, here are five brands you need to know about.


Planty

Image from Planty
Image from Planty

Planty is a chef-prepared meal delivery service, founded in 2019 by Andrea Cavallo and Ali Sheehan-Dare to change perceptions on what a vegan diet is. 

They brought in Joe Lovell as the head chef to ensure all of Planty’s food is consistently delicious. Joe was previously a chef in the Pretus restaurant, owned by Gordon Ramsay. 

Ali said: “Planty lets people enjoy healthy and super tasty plant-based meals without the associated hassle of having to cook or shop, while also joining a movement to fight against climate change through the food they eat."


UpCircle

Image from UpCircle Beauty
Image from UpCircle Beauty

UpCircle, the brand that turns plant waste into skincare products, was founded in 2016 by sibling duo Anna and Will Brightman. They realised their local coffee shop produced lots of coffee ground waste and had to pay their local council to remove it. They offered to take it away to use it instead.  

UpCircle is proud of its place in a sustainable, circular economy – using things that already exist and up-cycling them to make something better. 

Anna said of UpCircle’s plans for the future: “Our intention is to keep on innovating. At the moment we’re looking at how we can begin rescuing flower petals from local florists to turn into beautiful fragrant bath products. Growing our team is also something that excites me greatly. With each new member, we have a new wave of excitement, passion, and personality. We hired our first ever staff member last year, and this year we became a team of eight – crazy!"


The Glowcery

Image from The Glowcery
Image from The Glowcery

Founded in 2019 by Roshanne Dorsett, The Glowcery helps its customers feed their skin the right diet. Roshanne couldn’t find a vegan skincare brand that emphasised the importance of what you put on your body, as well as what you put in your body, so she built her own. 

Roshanne said: ''I can get all the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients I need to stay healthy from plants. By using The Glowcery skincare products you can feed your skin all the nutrients it needs to look and feel healthy without having to use animal-derived ingredients." 


Trash Planet

Image from Trash Planet
Image from Trash Planet

Holly Boxall and Jordan Grayson started Trash Planet in February 2020 as part of their mission to create the world’s most sustainable sneaker brand. 

Their sneakers are all made of up to 75% recycled materials and for every pair of trainers they sell, Trash Planet plants 15 new trees. So far they’ve planted over 2,000 trees, creating their own small forest in Madagascar. 

The team from Trash Planet also offers a recycling scheme where if your shoes are beyond repair, or you don’t wear them as much as you used to, you can send them in for recycling and they will give you £20 off your next purchase. 

They then recycle the returned trainers with their manufacturing partners or restore them and donate the trainers to a local charity.

Hannah said: “We’re not afraid to push boundaries and we’ve also got some clothing drops coming that we’re excited about. We’re just testing the waters at the moment to see what people like, but we always share our designs with our followers to get their feedback."


BYBI

Beauty bloggers Elsie Rutterford and Dominika Minarovic started BYBI Beauty (By Beauty Insiders) in 2017. They sell a wide range of beauty products including moisturisers, masks, balms, and more. They are values-based and have set out to create change in an old-fashioned industry.

BYBI is committed to using 100% natural, vegan, and cruelty-free ingredients and it is striving to do better for the planet at every stage -  from harvesting to packaging. 

BYBI has pledged to become a net-zero carbon brand by the end of 2020, using carbon offsetting to balance CO2 emissions. 

Got a great business idea? Visit the Virgin StartUp website to see how they can help you build something special.