Heart-warming stories from Alpro

After launching their fundraising initiative during the pandemic, plant-based leader Alpro are still encouraging other businesses to get involved as part of their ‘In It Together’ campaign.

While spearheaded by Alpro, the fund was launched in the hope that other suppliers of the coffee industry would donate to support more coffee shops. David Jiscoot, Marketing Director for Alpro UK & Ireland, says, “We’re calling on our fellow brands in the coffee industry to donate to the fund, so that we can work together to help as many businesses as possible. This is a time for us to pull together as put our support behind these independents who are at the heart of our industry, so please, get in touch and donate what you can.”

To donate, get in touch via [email protected]

The three-pronged campaign included the Barista at Home social campaign, the ‘In It Together’ fund and a free stock initiative. Alpro were overwhelmed with applications – with more than 700 in just three days. They have now allocated funding and stock to 80 coffee shops nationwide, which is why they are looking for other suppliers to get involved.

Here is a small selection of heart-warming tales from businesses who have benefited so far…

Joe Meagher, Flat Caps Coffee, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
“This money meant so much – it boosted an overall sense of confidence to pay staff on time, helped me to continue paying my ongoing business obligations while also investing money into the business to ensure a strong return when we re-open.
“I’ve invested in coffee roasting equipment, which is a brand-new avenue for us, we’ve conducted renovations in the shop, totally transforming the layout and how the shop will operate. Not only will this make us safer on our return, but it will help the daily operations of the business long term. 
“Although the grant doesn’t pay for all of that completely, it went a long way to help making sure I could push forward with these ideas! Thank you.” 

Nigel Skinkis, Caffe Grande Abaco, Oldham
“We used the money to create an app for our store. We have nearly finished the web ordering through Proday and the app is now downloadable from Google and Apple. We also now have digital gift cards etc that can be bought through Toggle, and we have created newsletters and boards etc to advertise, which has been really helpful.”

Isabelle Scattergood-Farmer, F’Coffee, Ashbourne
“Thanks again so much for the grant, we really appreciate it! We haven’t used the full grant yet, but we have used some of it to purchase screens, sanitiser stations and PPE for our staff when we reopen. We have also used the money to pay the finance on our coffee machine over the months we have been closed. We will be using the remainder to re-purchase all the food and drink stock we had to throw away when we were closed.”

Paul Warburton, Franks Canteen, London
“We used the grant to buy new equipment (shelving and fridge units) to enable us to move to becoming a bakery, deli and veg store! We plan to stay like this for the foreseeable future and the grant has helped us move to a new business offering for the local community.”

Chris Badham, Cello Coffee House, Sheffield
“The grant has been a massive help to our business, we are a small independent coffee house looking after a small family-orientated community and specialise in gluten free. Before we applied we were worried what the future may hold for us and to be honest, we still are with not being big enough to warrant opening (once allowed) because of the social distancing rules but with the grant it means we have a bit of breathing space to take an extra member of staff off furlough when we can open fully.
“The grant also gave us peace of mind to go towards rent and also we have replaced some tired furniture which we have been looking at for some time. Thank you to Georgina and everyone else at ‘In It Together Fund’ the grant has really helped Cello Coffee House out.”