Food company Alt Saints has launched an equity crowdfunding campaign to raise $1 million in its bid to increase conscious consumerism and sustainability targets.
Alt Saint founder Charbel Zeaiter said the company’s purpose was to lead other companies into a space of “genuine corporate social responsibility”.
“Our food emanates love, meaning and purpose. Instead of raising capital through private investors, we chose equity crowdfunding in the hope to appeal to the wider community through their hearts, minds and taste buds.
“On the spectrum between activism and social media slacktivism, there is a large available space for people to display their activism through their purchasing habits. The aim with our products is to encourage consumers to take that step closer, and by doing so make a real, positive impact on the world around them,” Zeaiter said.
Alt Saints encompasses four food sub-brands inspired by patron saints characters. Each brand has its own high-margin food category:
Saint Frankie – cereals;
Saint Dottie – donuts;
Saint Buzz – salad and juice; and
Saint Estelle – ice-cream.
Collectively the brands share 10 percent of revenue with organisations actively working to solve complicated ecological challenges.
Alt Saints has secured initial investment support from renowned chef Manu Feildel, and will use funds raised in the campaign for manufacturing and product innovation, customer experience, sales and distribution as well as marketing.
The focus of the crowdfunding campaign will be to expand Saint Frankie, a natural breakfast food company that produces plant-based muesli and granola, alternative milks and ready-to-drink coffee, and help save critically endangered animals from extinction along the way.
As part of its commitment to the triple bottom-line: ‘People, Planet and Prosperity’, The Alt Saints is in the process of securing B-Corp status, will actively employ people who are in a position of disadvantage, including refugees, migrants, women in crisis and people living with a disability, and will give back to early stage startups that are using emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and blockchain, in their quest to fight wildlife crime.
