Raglan Coconut Yoghurt news
A Raglan coconut yoghurt business spreading joy in a jar has received a funding boost as it looks to expand and build a new factory, with the help of WEL Energy Trust and the Ākina Foundation.
Raglan Coconut Yoghurt, established by Tesh Randall and fiancé Seb Walter, is one of three Waikato social enterprises that have received Impact Investment Readiness Grants to help grow their businesses.
The funding is part of a $50,000 Impact Investment Readiness Grant WEL Energy Trust has provided to impact development organisation Ākina, to grow social enterprise in the Waikato.
Randall said the money would go towards seeking investment to expand Raglan Coconut Yoghurt into more international markets and build their own factory in the seaside town.
The business was founded with her fiancé five-years-ago, as she sought to help Seb manage allergies and go dairy free. It has grown organically since then, and the business is now based around using commerce as a vehicle for good.
“We put a lot of effort into social and environmental projects. We’re Raglan’s only living wage employer, we’re carboNZero certified, we’re involved in a lot of tree planting projects and maintaining bush reserves locally,” she said.
The business was also sponsoring organisations like Eat My Lunch, providing yoghurt to beach clean-up groups and trying to collect one million pieces of rubbish from our beaches. They also sponsored beehives for schools and families around New Zealand.
“We’re definitely a bit more than just a corporate yoghurt brand. We like to use our business to share, promote and participate in the things we care about; people and our environment.”
She said building a new factory would provide them security to stay in the town, with their 24 staff, and allow them to expand their range.
“As a fast-growing brand with a lot of opportunities to explore and a high need for cash-flow to fund our growth, this opportunity to get ‘investment-ready’ with support from Ākina Foundation and WEL Energy Trust is very timely. We hope this will help us bring in the investment we need for the next stage of the Raglan Coconut Yoghurt journey, both here in New Zealand and in our overseas markets.”
WEL Energy Trust Chief Executive Raewyn Jones said partnering with Ākina was about helping to grow the ecosystem for investment into businesses that are doing good in our communities, and providing the specialist knowledge and support they need to take their business to the next level.
“We’re excited about growing social enterprise activity in the Waikato and Ākina is the perfect partner for that.”
“This grant is a way of making sure this type of business activity continues to grow in the Waikato and we’re keen to see how we can continue working together. It’s all about finding new solutions to old problems and new ways to create positive impact.”
Ākina Director Jackson Rowland said it was the third time Äkina had run Impact Investment Readiness Grants, but it was the first time it had run a local version of the programme, thanks to the WEL funding.
“We’re really thrilled to have been able to offer this opportunity targeted to Waikato businesses.”
“Through the applications we received, we’ve seen just how much awesome potential there is in the Waikato. The previous national grant rounds unlocked over $4 million of impact investing from just $150,000 of grant money, so we’re really looking forward to seeing how much investment will be unlocked by our Waikato grant recipients over the coming months.”
“Our three Waikato recipients are exciting, impactful businesses. They’ll be using the grant money to help take them to the next level, whether that’s through the development of their business models, funding strategies or getting ready for an equity raise.”