Vurger Co sets restaurant crowdfunding record
The pop-up, which is aiming to kick-start a meat-free ‘revolution’ in fast food, began its campaign on 3 July and hit its £180,000 goal within 30 hours.
It ended its crowdfunding drive on 6 July after raising £300,000, 66% above its target, in just 77 hours.
Founders Rachel Hugh and Neil Potts are planning to use the money to open their first permanent London restaurant.
Chef Andrew Dargue, from vegetarian restaurant Vanilla Black, has teamed up with the duo to create a menu of vegetable-based burgers, sides, brownies and shakes.
“We are extremely excited that we hit the £300k mark in just 77 hours, we just love that everyone has got behind our mission, believed in us and our team and understood how much of an impact our concept can have on the future of food,” Neil and Rachel said in a statement.
The team initially set out to offer 23.08% equity in exchange for £180,000, but the additional funding has allowed them to raise the offer to 33.3%.
Crowdfunding has become an increasingly popular method of opening restaurants in the past few years. Chef Gary Usher has raised over £350,000 to launch three restaurants in the north west since 2015, while Brighton's Chilli Pickle and Ben's Canteen in London have both crowdfunded their expansion plans this year.