Female founded seed brand set to reach £1M in Year 3
One of Suffolk’s fastest growing businesses, She Grows Veg, is on track to reach a milestone £1 million in sales this year, after just over two years in business.
She Grows Veg is an heirloom seed brand which launched in November 2023, with the aim to inspire both beginners and seasoned growers to try their hand at cultivating beautiful and delicious heritage vegetables. However, the success of the business has not only been down to a unique USP, but also the driving force of its female founders, former marketeer Kate Cotterill and former jewellery designer, Lucy Hutchings.
Starting their journey as just two founders looking to cultivate a business from the ground up, She Grows Veg now employs 17 women and, with a total sales revenue of £1 million on the near horizon, it is about to become one of only about 1.9% female-run businesses in the UK to hit this figure.
Establishing itself as one-to-watch, She Grows Veg has achieved two successful years at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, receiving gold medals for its innovative and immersive exhibits, alongside a wealth of media attention on national radio, TV, and in the newspapers and, to add to its already hefty list of successes, it has now been accepted into Buy Women Built, a network that supports women-built brands, and Super Scalers, an exclusive global community for underrepresented founders with £1+ million revenue. It has also just launched onto Ocado, which marks its first major online retail listing.
“It is truly amazing how far we’ve come in such a short space of time,” explains Cotterill. “I can’t believe we’re heading to £1M sales this year and more than doubling revenue every year!”
But the success of the brand has not been without its hurdles; early days were a struggle as Kate and Lucy suffered the same difficulties so many female founders face when launching a new business. “Getting She Grows Veg off the ground wasn’t easy. Securing our first bank account was really hard and we also faced discrimination whilst trying to get a business loan, with a broker admitting it was harder to secure a loan as a female founder,” explains Cotterill. In fact, figures from Invest in Women Taskforce’s Annual Report shows that female founders secure less than 2% of all equity investment.
“We crowdfunded to get started, raising £25K in funds, and went through a rigorous process to secure further funding through Biz Britain, a great organisation that supports new business owners. It was important to look at different avenues and get creative in approaching challenges, rather than let them get the better of us,” explains Cotterill. She Grows Veg secured angel investment in March 2025 which gave them the capital they needed to accelerate the business’ growth.
What’s also interesting is that She Grows Veg is a business run entirely by women. “We are a company that supports women who want to have a career and be there for their children. Our employees all work flexible hours so they can do both; working around school runs, sport’s days and school holidays,” explains Cotterill. “As we start year three, we have so many plans that just continue to build on our success over the last two years, whilst also allowing us to reach an even broader range of potential growers.”
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