'Innovative' ice cream brand from Leeds targets Crowdcube funding to expand business

Ice cream brand, Northern Bloc is launching a new Crowdcube campaign to fund the expansion of its business.

The company is looking to raise funding and develop manufacturing and storage capacity, improving sustainability and driving R&D into vegan, protein and low sugar varieties.

The investment will also enable the team to spread the message of 100 per cent natural ice cream to national and international customers.

Launched in 2014 in Leeds by Josh Lee and Dirk Mischendahl, Northern Bloc is free from artificial ingredients and low in sugar. It is also suitable for vegetarians, gluten free, additive free and egg free.

Since 2017, Northern Bloc has tripled its sales and is now looking to take its approach to ice cream worldwide - with a customer-driven Crowdcube funding initiative.

The company is now aiming to raise £400k through the Crowdcube platform.

Co-founder, Josh Lee, said: “Dirk and I founded the company in summer 2014, starting off as a street food trader out of the back of an old Bedford van.

“We saw a gap in the market for using fresh ingredients in ice cream as it was an area that had been stagnant terms of innovation.

“We’re aiming to raise capital to help us grasp opportunities and kick on to a national level and beyond. Crowdcube will give us a range of investors across the UK and a group of people connect with the brand who can guide us.”

Northern Bloc designs each flavour, with its recipes being made of natural vegetable fibres using molecular technology developed specifically by the team.