Pimp My Salad
- Type: Retail
- Total Round Size (min): AUD$150,000
- Total Round Size (max): AUD$700,000
- Price per share: AUD$0.75
Pimp My Salad
Pimp My Salad is a fun and innovative brand based in Byron Bay, responsible for the creation and manufacturing of delightful, healthy meal toppers that make meals amazing.
- Fees Paid by Issuer: 6% of funds raised
- Cooling-Off Rights: 5 working days
- Minimum Parcel Size: $250.5
Offer Overview
Key Documents
Company Overview
Australia is one of the world's fastest-growing vegan markets, by some estimates projected to reach a staggering $9b valuation by 2030. Established in 2014, Pimp My Salad is stepping up to meet this increasing demand and establishing itself as a market leader in this segment. Our plant-based, gluten-free products, made from high quality ingredients, have made healthy eating both enjoyable and simple for customers across the nation and overseas.
Our founders, Olga Plotnikova and Alex Komarov, have a strong foundation in science. Olga, holding a PhD in medical biology and with a decade-long career in cancer research, recognizes the vital role a nutritious diet plays in disease prevention. Meanwhile, Alex, a trained physicist and digital product expert, brings a wealth of product design experience to the table.
We have already sold over a million products worldwide, including our delicious seeds, croutons, and sauces made from whole foods and featuring short, transparent ingredient lists. Our best-sellers include Activated Superseeds, meat-free Coconut Bacon, Cashew Parmesan, and Hemp Parmesan.
Our business quickly grew since we began nationwide distribution to independent grocers and health food stores in 2018. By June 2022, we were proudly stocked in prominent supermarkets like Coles, Woolworths, and Harris Farm. Today, Pimp My Salad products can be found in over 2000 stores across Australia.
In 2019, we ventured overseas and built a strong network of stockists in the UK, with our products listed in over 500 stores, including Holland & Barrett, Mindful Chef, Ocado, and other selected health food shops.
With a positive EBITDA and over $1 million in gross sales by the end of 2022, our business has actively grown, averaging a steady 35% p.a.
We've set our sights on expanding to the UAE, New Zealand, Ireland, and other parts of Europe, and aim to grow 75% by the end of 2024. To achieve this, we're raising capital to forge new retail partnerships, launch exciting products, and boost community engagement with educational resources and tempting recipes.
Investment Highlights
- Rapidly Growing Market with Health and Convenience Tailwinds
Home to as many as 2.5 million vegans and vegetarians, Australia is one of the fastest growing vegan markets in the world, and is projected by some to reach $9b by 2030. As Australians increasingly choose Better-For-You (BFY) products and demand convenience, Pimp My Salad's healthy and time-saving product range positions us to capture these market opportunities.
- Consistent Growth with a Diversified Revenue Model
With 50% gross margins and consistent EBITDA profitability, Pimp My Salad has grown at an average rate of 35% YoY without compromising the bottom line. The revenue model is diversified across geography (Australia and the UK) and retailer types (major chains, independent grocers, and online).
- Platform Built to Scale
Pimp My Salad has built a scalable and reliable supply chain by leveraging a network of contract manufacturers, co-packers, storage, and logistics providers. Learning from COVID-induced supply chain challenges, they have developed a platform that minimizes the risk of shortages from any single provider's failure.
- Hot Market for Strategic Acquisitions
The BFY/convenient food space has seen a lot of attention from large food groups looking to snap up challenger brands. Relevant M&A examples include:
- Humble Group acquired by Go Superfoods (SWE, May 2022, AUD ~$30m)
- Follow Your Heart acquired by Danone (US/EUR, Feb 2021)
- Garden Fresh Gourmet acquired by Campbell Soup Company (US, June 2015, USD $231m)
- Annie's acquired by General Mills (US, Sep 2014, USD $820m)
As Pimp My Salad scales, there is an opportunity to be acquired by larger industry players and for investors to achieve a healthy return.
- Extensive Social and Print Media Presence
Pimp My Salad boasts a strong organic reach, including over 20,000 Instagram followers, and a total reach exceeding 2 million through influencers and brand advocates. Additionally, we are frequently featured in publications such as Donna Hay, Women's Weekly, and Foodbev Media.
- Brand Recognised for Innovation
As an innovative brand, Pimp My Salad was nominated for the Innovation Award at the International Food Expo 2023 UK London and was a finalist for the Nexty Awards at Expo West USA in 2019.
Business Model
Pimp My Salad's key value proposition is in offering meal toppers that are quick and easy to prepare, making it simple for customers to maintain a healthy diet.
The company's products are primarily distributed through grocery chains, which account for the majority of the company's total revenue. Independent grocers make up 40% of this revenue, while Woolworths and Coles account for 16% and 15%, respectively. In the UK, Holland & Barrett contributes 6%, Mindful Chef and Ocado each contribute 9% and 6% comes from other UK stores.
Pimp My Salad has fostered solid relationships with its grocery chain partners, positioning the company to achieve significant distribution within these channels. By partnering with these retailers, Pimp My Salad is able to leverage their existing customer base and marketing efforts, while also building its own brand.
The company is not heavily reliant on online sales channels, instead choosing to focus on its partnerships with grocery chains.
Growth Strategy
Pimp My Salad has a robust growth strategy that is designed to increase its market penetration and expand its operations globally. With its existing channels, new grocery chains, and new markets, the company is well positioned to achieve their $1.9m revenue target (+75% growth) in the next 18 months.
One of Pimp My Salad's growth strategies is to increase the penetration of its existing products and launch new products. The company has a broad range of products that are in high demand among its customers, and it plans to leverage this demand to grow its existing channels. By expanding its product offerings, Pimp My Salad aims to deepen its market penetration and increase sales.
Pimp My Salad has already established a presence in several grocery chains, including Woolworths and Holland & Barrett. The company plans to enable more stores in these chains, going from 200 Woolworths stores to 800 and 400 Holland & Barrett stores to 1200. This strategy will enable Pimp My Salad to reach more customers and increase its revenue streams.
Pimp My Salad is also looking to enter new grocery chains in Australia and the UK. The company plans to enter 400 more stores in Australia, Costco Australia, 600 Sainsbury's UK stores, 300 Waitrose UK stores, and 2800 Tesco UK stores. Entering new grocery chains will allow Pimp My Salad to expand its market reach and increase its revenue streams.
Pimp My Salad is exploring new markets to expand its operations. The company has already shipped its first order to Singapore and commenced negotiations to enter Dubai & UAE. Additionally, Pimp My Salad plans to expand into Europe, Ireland, and New Zealand.
Why Equity Crowdfunding?
Since inception, Pimp My Salad’s mission has been to ensure that Australian consumers don’t have to choose between convenience and their health. Good food is at the heart of any healthy community - which is why they have opted to bring their community along for the ride as they embark on their next stage of growth.
By investing in Pimp My Salad, you are becoming a part owner in a novel and daring Australian food company at a pivotal point in its growth. Investors will also get access to an exclusive and exciting range of rewards.
Don't miss your chance to join the Pimp My Salad family!
Key Team Members
Olga Plotnikova
PhD in Molecular Biology, cancer researcher turned Pimp founder.
Passionate about health, food, recipes, achieving goals and building impactful companies.
Alex Komarov
Physicist, software engineer and designer turned Pimp founder.
Curious about branding, aesthetics, and building processes and systems that work.
Simon Lacey
25 years experience in FMCG, working in senior sales, marketing and management positions from large FMCG Blue Chips
Lisa Kesper
A seasoned senior brand manager and marketer with a strong commercial background and a proven track record in developing authentic multicultural brands. MS in Fashion Brand Management.
Financial Information
For more information please see section 2.11 of the Offer Document.
* Packaging costs are reported in Opex on the P&L. Average Gross Margin when taking into account packaging is 50%.
Use of Funds
For more information please see section 3.2 of the Offer Document
Key Risks
The vegan meal topper category is nascent in Australia. Pimp My Salad is one of the early brands to market in Australia, lending first mover advantage. As the market grows, new entrants will provide greater competition, possibly impacting market share and margins.
New entrants into the space further validate the commercial viability and opportunity the segment presents. Pimp My Salad will look to build its defensibility by building brand equity through consistent messaging and increasing presence on shelves.
Pimp My Salad currently makes 96% of sales through a single channel, grocery. A concentrated revenue model is riskier by nature and less insulated from failure than a revenue model that is diversified across multiple channels.
While its sales are concentrated in one broad channel, Pimp My Salad distributes through a number of different distributors and grocery chains which reduces the risk to the model if one partner were to pull Pimp My Salad products from shelves.
Pimp My Salad sources ingredients from a variety of locations. Impacts to the availability of certain ingredients may put upward pressure on input costs and erode margins. Alternatively, they might impact Pimp My Salad’s ability to produce certain products entirely.
Pimp My Salad has built a resilient network of suppliers (both locally in Australia and across Europe and Asia) and manufacturers so as to minimise the risk to any one element of their supply chain.
The strength of Pimp My Salad’s brand is key to their exit strategy. With expansion comes the risk that core brand values are diluted and lost with scale, which may impact the underlying value of the business.
Pimp My Salad has structured the business such that their strategic focus is on fostering and growing the brand as their core point of difference. This is seen as crucial to their exit strategy.