Virgin StartUp Foodpreneur Festival: Street Food (and drink)
It’s safe to say that the UK is in the middle of a street food revolution. No longer just a trend confined to London’s trendier niches, street food is now an industry boasting a mind-melting and tastebud-enticing range of businesses.
While this is brilliant news for those of us with an adventurous (or gluttonous) bent, it means that it’s increasingly difficult for newcomers to the scene to stand out and establish themselves. Gone are the days when you could just pitch up anywhere. Now competition for places at markets and festivals is fierce. How can you compete when you’re just starting out, build up that all-important traction and word-of-mouth, and get customers choosing you?
This is why we wanted to champion and support street food startups as part of Virgin StartUp Foodpreneur Festival. Here are the awesome prizes on offer.
One startup will receive a week's worth of rent-free pop-up space at Old Street Station, courtesy of Appear Here. This is a unique opportunity to get your business in front of a LOT of Zone One commuters every day for a week. Old Street Station sees a footfall of about 70,000 commuters a day, and with its location within buzzing Shoreditch and Silicon Roundabout it's perfectly poised to help drum up attention for your startup and get you onto peoples' radars.
One startup will also win a rent-free place at Urban Food Fest in Shoreditch for three months. Rapidly establishing itself as one of the most exciting street food festivals around, Urban Food Fest takes place every Saturday in the heart of Shoreditch. With Boxpark and Brick Lane nearby, it's perfectly placed to catch hungry weekend wanderers, bringing together good drinks, excellent food, and live music.
Who’s it for?
Maybe you started out baking for friends and family, graduating to fêtes and occasions, before realising you should start a market stall. Perhaps you loved working as a chef but felt like getting up close and personal with your customers. Perhaps you turned your love of consuming burgers into the desire to create the perfect one and sell it at festivals across the nation. Perhaps you’re a committed vegan eager to show the world how delicious and exciting plant-based grub can be.
If you’re a passionate food entrepreneur who could really benefit from a rent-free street food stall, or a rent-free pop-up to gain traction and customers, then we want to hear from you. Whether you’re creating new fusion food, perfecting old classics, or providing an on-the-go dining concept that’s out of this world, we want food startups that are exciting, committed, and standing out from the crowd.
If you think this describes you, enter here by 5pm on 16th September. You have one week to throw your (chef’s) hat into the ring – good luck!
