First Loan Repayment
Scottish EDGE Round 5 winner, Pulsetta Foods, has become the first winner to repay their Scottish EDGE loan in full due to the fantastic progress they have made since winning their award in doubling their revenue, employing a team of people and exporting their products to various countries around the world. Commenting on the loan repayment, Evelyn McDonald, CEO of Scottish EDGE, said; “We are absolutely delighted with the progress Pulsetta Foods have made since winning Scottish EDGE funding and support. Their early loan repayment is a testament to the success of our entrepreneurial ecosystem and the support that we provide.”
Awards
Next up are Tribe Foods who won Wild Card EDGE funding and support as Swell Rise during Round 7. Two of their products have recently received ‘Great Taste’ awards from the Guild of Fine Food, having been put through their paces by several tables of food industry experts – restauranteurs, chefs, food writers, etc. Want to give them a try? Go and buy yourself some Chia and Oats in either the Spiced Apple & Raspberry or Banana & Blueberry flavours.
New Products
intelligentPoS, our Young EDGE Round 5 and Scottish EDGE Round 7 winners, have just released the fourth major software version of their growing till system. With new features including in-depth reporting and two-way synchronisation to rival the market leaders, it’s no surprise that the company has seen huge growth in recent months. If you run a retail business, you should seriously be considering a new till system.
The past two months have also seen VH Innovation, who won support as part of Scottish EDGE Round 6, launch their first product, Recoil Protective Kneepads. The product, which is designed to protect manual tradesmen from sore knees, is now available at Toolstop who have also produced a great video to showcase it.
Supermarket Deal
Round 2 Scottish EDGE winners, Hebridean Sea Salt, have struck a landmark £180,000 deal with J Sainsbury to stock their product in 360 stores nationwide. As Scotland’s only sea salt producer, who are based on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, Hebridean Sea Salt have traditionally produced and sold culinary sea salt to independent retailers. Managing Director, Natalie Crayton, said; “Our deal with Sainsbury’s has given us a platform to grow our business and increase our production. We are delighted to bring our pure natural sea salt flakes to consumers nation-wide.”
Techstars
Congratulations to MindMate, Young EDGE Round 7 winners, who have been selected from 1,500 applicants to join the influential New York technology accelerator, Techstars. This represents a huge opportunity for the Glasgow-based startup, with the programme claiming that more than 90% of participating startups go on to raise upwards of $2 million in funding. We hope that the team are enjoying the experience.
