Couple who started a vegan snack business from their kitchen now turn over a £2MILLION a year (despite one of them being a meat-eater when they met)

  • Couple turned compassion for animals into UK's fastest growing vegan business
  • Karris & Scott McCulloch from Glasgow launched business selling vegan treats
  • Their whole family is now vegan and the business turns over £2million a year 

A family has turned their passion for veganism into one of the UK's fastest growing vegan businesses with an annual turnover of over £2million.

Karris, 32, and Scott McCulloch, 35, from Glasgow, launched their home business, VEGANkind, in 2013 after struggling to find vegan options on the high street.

The couple, who are parents to six-year-old Casey and two-year-old Tyler, soon found their business was booming, and have even had to upsize their warehouse three times to keep up with the size of their stock. 

They say demand for vegan goods is increasing all the time and they now employ 11 members of staff and ship more than 9,000 orders every month - with both of them leaving high-flying jobs in finance to concentrate full-time on their thriving business. 

Karris said it was shopping for vegan food, cosmetics and other items which gave her the initial idea for an online vegan subscription box service.

Karris and Scott McCulloch, from Glasgow, have turned their love for animals into one of the UK's fastest growing vegan businesses with an annual turnover of over £2million

Karris and Scott McCulloch, from Glasgow, have turned their love for animals into one of the UK's fastest growing vegan businesses with an annual turnover of over £2million

She said: 'It's much easier than it used to be to find vegan items but it still involves a fair bit of research and reading labels carefully. 

'I thought how great it would be if you could get mailed a monthly package filled with vegan treats.'

Karris and Scott launched the company five years ago offering a monthly vegan subscription box service, but the couple's home was soon swamped with boxes as they worked around the clock to process orders from all over the world. 

In 2016 they expanded the business further with the launch of TheVeganKind Supermarket.

As the business continued to grow they took on a commercial unit to allow them to cope with the growing number of orders, and recently relocated to a new 10,000 sq ft warehouse after outgrowing their previous two facilities in quick succession.

The couple, who are parents to six-year-old Casey and two-year-old Tyler (pictured together), soon found their business was booming 

The couple, who are parents to six-year-old Casey and two-year-old Tyler (pictured together), soon found their business was booming 

They have even had to upsize their warehouse three times to keep up with the high demand 

They have even had to upsize their warehouse three times to keep up with the high demand 

Their website is popular with Britain's half million vegans and with the movement gaining new followers every month the couple are inspired to see the growing demand. 

Speaking about how the idea for their business developed, Karris said that growing up on Scotland's Isle of Arran heavily influenced her decision to become vegetarian, and later vegan. 

She said: 'I grew up in a remote area, surrounded by sheep and cows grazing in the fields where I played.

'I loved animals so much from a young age that it felt natural to me when I decided I wasn't going to eat them anymore.

Scott was a meat-eater when he met Karris and she was 'amazed' when Scott announced he wanted to join her and Casey and go vegan too

Scott was a meat-eater when he met Karris and she was 'amazed' when Scott announced he wanted to join her and Casey and go vegan too

They have both been able to leave their jobs in finance to spend more time with their children

They have both been able to leave their jobs in finance to spend more time with their children

'I had a vague idea of what being vegan was, but it just seemed too extreme. I thought by being a vegetarian I wasn't harming animals and so to me that was enough.' 

She left Arran to continue her studies and later met Scott through friends. The pair hit it off even though Scott was a meat eater at the time.

Scott said: 'Even though I ate meat and Karris was vegetarian when we first got into a relationship, it was never a contentious issue between us. Karris never tried to change me at all.

'However, being in a relationship with someone passionately vegetarian, it was only a matter of time before I started learning the hidden truths about the meat and dairy industry. 

The couple initially agreed to raise their first child Casey as a vegetarian

The couple initially agreed to raise their first child Casey as a vegetarian

But as Karris' awareness of animal rights issues increased, they started exploring what it meant to be vegan

But as Karris' awareness of animal rights issues increased, they started exploring what it meant to be vegan

'I had turned a blind eye for so long, but I couldn't ignore what I was seeing and hearing any longer. It all just felt so horrendously unnecessary.'

The couple, who both had successful careers in the financial sector, initially agreed to raise their first child Casey as a vegetarian but as Karris's awareness of animal rights issues increased, they started exploring what it meant to be vegan.

She said: 'The internet and social media have been such great tools to expand people's understanding of what's going on and has exposed many of the cruel practices of the meat, egg and dairy industry.

Karris said it was shopping for vegan food, cosmetics and other items which gave her the initial idea for an online vegan subscription box service

Karris said it was shopping for vegan food, cosmetics and other items which gave her the initial idea for an online vegan subscription box service

Karris and Scott launched the company five years ago offering a monthly vegan subscription box service

Karris and Scott launched the company five years ago offering a monthly vegan subscription box service

'As a vegetarian I thought my actions weren't causing any suffering to animals but I watched You Tube videos that showed innocent baby chicks being ground up alive because they were males and so couldn't lay eggs and are therefore seen as waste products of the egg industry.

'There are also many videos available which show how cruel the dairy industry is with calves being separated from their mothers soon after birth and taken away to be turned into veal.

'Once I saw this suffering and realised I was supporting it by buying those products I couldn't just turn my back to it and ignore it so myself and Casey became fully vegan.'

Karris said that growing up on Scotland's Isle of Arran heavily influenced her decision to become vegetarian, and later vegan

Karris said that growing up on Scotland's Isle of Arran heavily influenced her decision to become vegetarian, and later vegan

Their website is popular with Britain's half million vegans and with the movement gaining new followers every month the couple are inspired to see the growing demand 

Their website is popular with Britain's half million vegans and with the movement gaining new followers every month the couple are inspired to see the growing demand 

Karris said she was amazed when Scott announced he wanted to join her and Casey and go vegan too.

She said: 'I was over the moon when Scott said he was going to stop eating meat. At first he became vegetarian but he very quickly transitioned to fully vegan. It was one of the happiest days of my life!'

Scott said: 'I remember thinking veganism would be 'hard'. But that's just simply not true, it could not be easier. 

'There are alternatives for everything nowadays. Burgers, ice cream, pizzas, sausages, kebabs, fish fingers, amazing plant-based milks. 

The couple's home was soon swamped with boxes as they worked around the clock to process orders from all over the world

The couple's home was soon swamped with boxes as they worked around the clock to process orders from all over the world

They say demand for vegan goods is increasing all the time and they now employ 11 members of staff and ship more than 9,000 orders every month

They say demand for vegan goods is increasing all the time and they now employ 11 members of staff and ship more than 9,000 orders every month

'I believe that the growth of veganism has only just begun. Superstars like Lewis Hamilton and Arianna Grande going vegan are of course a help to the overall cause, but I believe it is the amount of vegan children like our two, which will see veganism really start to soar over the next decade.

'I absolutely love that we are raising vegan children. Understanding compassion is an important trait. 

'They are happy, very healthy, and extremely energetic, with glowing skin and smiles on their faces. They have never known of animals as food. I'm very proud to say that, and have Karris to thank.' 

The couple say they are confident the current appetite for veganism will continue to increase as more young people become knowledgeable about the meat, egg and dairy industries. 

The success of their business means that they are able to enjoy luxury holidays and time with their family 

The success of their business means that they are able to enjoy luxury holidays and time with their family 

Their website is popular with Britain's half million vegans and with the movement gaining new followers every month the couple are inspired to see the growing demand

Their website is popular with Britain's half million vegans and with the movement gaining new followers every month the couple are inspired to see the growing demand