The owner of vegan food brand Vbites has secured a rescue deal to salvage the business, following accusations that the “gaslighting” meat industry caused a decline in sales.
Fending off five rival bidders, Heather Mills has bought Vbites company assets for £1m after the plant-based business’ collapse which led to 20 redundancies and 60 further job losses in December.
Alongside the new rescue deal, which includes Vbites factories in County Durham and Northamptonshire, Mills has vowed to rehire 40 workers, reported The Grocer.
Mills also took to social media to blast “corporate greed and poor management” which led to the brand being “unnecessarily” forced into administration with just three days notice.
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She added: “This is why I have chosen to resurrect the company myself, at great personal expense, and take control of the operations, personally moving back to the North East to ensure we are still able to make a positive contribution to the future of our global food economy.”
According to a report from administrators at Interpath, the company was driven to administration after it was hit by a surge in cost and shoppers seeking cheaper vegan alternatives.
For the year to 31 March 2023, VBites made an EBITDA loss of £3.1m with net sales of £7.7m, leaving it with debts totalling to more than £8.3m at the time of its collapse.
In its report, Interpath Advisory said: “In recent years, the company has been loss-making, compounded by the relocation of its operations from its previous facility at Benton to Peterlee in 2021 and the associated increase in operating costs.
“The company faced numerous additional challenges, including the impact of rising raw material costs, energy prices and a reduction in demand for alternative protein products in the wake of the cost-of-living crisis.”
Mills also lashed out at influencers and the dairy industries advertising campaigns, which she called “well-funded gaslighting initiatives” that helped spread the “lies and misinformation” that led to the fall of the brand.
