Edinburgh eco packaging firm Vegware is Scotland’s 5th fastest with 57% growth

• Vegware in Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100
• Deloitte 2015 Technology EMEA Fast 500 ranking – 5th fastest growing firm in Scotland

Vegware, the Edinburgh eco packaging company, has today been awarded two high growth businesses rankings: The Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100, and also the Deloitte 2015 Technology EMEA Fast 500. The Edinburgh SME has grown by 57% a year over 3 years to £9.8m turnover; staff numbers rose from 9 to 41 during this time. Vegware is invited to Sir Richard Branson’s Oxfordshire home for the Fast Track 100 awards dinner.

Managing Director Joe Frankel founded the firm in 2008. “It has been a fantastic journey. When we started, sustainability was a niche concern. Now Vegware’s eco catering disposables are used at 50% of the UK’s universities, swathes of Canary Wharf, and at corporate restaurants and artisan cafes all around the UK. We are active in five continents, and have won over 50 awards. Product innovation is one key factor to our continuing growth – such as our new colourful Tasting Notes collection, and our innovative Gourmet Range for hot food to go. But the real key to our success has been our proactive team. We are proud to be the leaders of our field, and our growth trajectory proves that we have taken sustainability mainstream.”

Earlier this year, Vegware opened a Bristol office to serve its expanding customer base in London and the South. The firm now holds around 2.5% of the total UK catering disposables market. Vegware is the only completely compostable packaging company operating globally, and has operational bases in the UK, USA, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, UAE and Hong Kong, with distribution throughout Europe and North America. As Vegware grows, it supports more non-profit projects with grants and product donations through the Vegware Community Fund.

The firm makes completely compostable catering disposables, such as coffee cups, cutlery and takeaway boxes, from renewable or recycled plant-based materials, all of which can be recycled along with food waste. Vegware’s Eco Audits quantify the carbon savings of switching to plant-based materials; in 2015 the firm has already saved over 3,200 tonnes of carbon. Winner of over 50 awards for sustainability and innovation including the Queen’s Award for Enterprise, Vegware is proof that eco is no longer niche.