Challenger chocolate brand Doisy & Dam continues major crowdfunding campaign
Challenger chocolate brand Doisy & Dam has continued its crowdfunding bid to further expand the business, having already achieved 164% of its initial £300,000 target, reports Neill Barston.
As a B-Corp company focused on verified sustainability and environmental standards that returned sales of more than £1 million last year, the ethically founded business specialising in nostalgic treats made with sustainably sourced dark chocolate, natural ingredients and no palm oil, is seeking to extend its production capacity.
Having founded the firm back in 2013, friends Ed Smith and Richard Wilkinson wanted to raise the bar in dark chocolate production within the UK, has appointed a new chairman, Mike Hedges to help manage its growth to the next level of development.
In gaining B-Corp ethical trading status, the business has joined a total of more than 4,000 companies worldwide (with around 500 in the UK), that share their sourcing and sustainability goals, including The Body Shop, Guardian Media Group, Jamie Oliver Group.
Ed Smith, (pictured main image), co-founder of the business, welcomed its latest crowdfunding initiative. He said: “We’re coming back to the crowd to supercharge our growth. We’ve got lots of exciting things coming up this year, and the investment from crowdfunding is going to unlock our ability to ramp up our marketing, export growth and create some fantastic new products which we’ll be first testing out on our investors.
“This campaign has also been a great opportunity to share the news about Mike Hedges becoming our new chairman – and we look forward to growing with his expertise. With 30 years’ experience in FMCG, Mike has spent the last 12 years running and growing SME food businesses in the UK and internationally. Most recently, Mike was CEO of PROPER snacks, during which he drove significant revenue growth, over doubling sales in a little over 2 years. Prior to Proper, Mike was Managing Director at Tyrells Crisps and in his time there saw the business grow from £8m to £130m in sales.
“Mike’s decision to join us at D&D is a huge vote of confidence in our concept and strategy and with him on board we’ve got an expert set of hands to help guide us through the next few years of growth.”
