Planet Organic is launching a crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs to help realize its ambitious expansion plans of reaching 50 stores over the next three years, after having already seen investment from several external partners.
CEO George Dymond has been vocal about the retailer’s vision for fast and extensive growth since joining the company at the end of 2021 and aims to increase the existing 12 outlets by over fourfold to hit 50 by 2025.
Speaking about this target in an interview with NPN in July, Dymond said: “It absolutely makes sense … but as with any business you need scale – clearly, we need funding to get to that scale. I’ve got an ambition that wherever customers are, however they want to shop with us – whether that’s online, whether that’s through Deliveroo … or of course in our communities – that we have a store.”
Now, aiming to garner at least part of that funding through a Seedrs campaign, he says: “I’m delighted to invite people to join us on this hugely exciting next phase of the Planet Organic journey. A big part of the reason for our success up to this point is that we have a highly knowledgeable, passionate and evangelical customer base, and we’re really excited by the prospect of offering them an opportunity to buy a stake in our business, so they can feel even more a part of its future.
We’ve got big ambitions and a huge amount of belief in where Planet Organic can get to
“We’ve been overwhelmed by the response to the pre-reg phase. We’ve got big ambitions and a huge amount of belief in where Planet Organic can get to, and with the support of all our prospective investors and our friends at Seedrs, we can’t wait to see where it takes us.”
Kirsty Grant, Seedrs chief investment officer, adds: “Having such an established and well-loved brand crowdfunding through our platform is a real privilege. We’re delighted to have Planet Organic on board and look forward to working closely with the team there to make a success of the crowdfund and bring their exciting plans to fruition.”
The move comes as the retailer launches its first store outside of London, in Henley-on-Thames, and follows the opening of a new distribution centre in Sunbury, which it says has ‘revolutionized the brand’s supply chain’.
The retailer has also just launched a collection of supplements as the first products in its new Planet Originals brand.
