A meat supplier is aiming to bring goat meat to supermarket shelves after securing backing from the crowd to fund its ambitious plans.
Cabrito Goat Meat sources young goats from British dairy farms, rears them for meat and then supplies it to restaurants, butchers and catering firms, as well as the public on a DTC site.
Its mission is to create demand to stop billy goats being euthanised at birth as a waste product of the dairy industry and instead become part of the food system.
The business raised just more than £280k from 511 investors on the Crowdcube platform, exceeding its £250k target.
Cabrito will use the money to build a butchery facility, which will include packing and distribution capabilities, to give it the resources to expand further into retail markets.
James Whetlor, a London-based chef and author of ‘Goat: Cooking and Eating’, who founded Cabrito in 2012, said it was “unacceptable” that healthy animals were euthanised at birth instead of going into the food system.
“We have ambitious plans,” he told The Grocer. “I’m confident we will see goat on supermarket shelves within three years, either as fresh produce or a ready meal.
“A UK-sourced, goat product’s time has come. We have proved with both the restaurant and online retail sales that the market is there. This really is a transformational moment in UK goat farming.”
Cabrito already works with Cheshire-based dairy producer Delamere, which is also an investor in the goat meat business.
Pre-pandemic, Cabrito recorded revenues of £314k, but was forced to pivot towards retail as restaurants closed during lockdowns. Online sales increased 319% in 2020 and by 46% last year as a result.
No comments yet