Fundraising has been launched for the UK’s first vegan ice cream van destroyed by fire

The man behind the UK’s first vegan ice cream van, Mr Whippy, has launched an online fundraiser to get back into business after a freak fire gutted the vehicle.

Chris Reed’s ‘Happy Cow’ ice cream was the first of its kind in the UK and, in addition to touring events in Bristol, had a regular place on Narrow Quay opposite the Watershed on the harbor front in the city centre.

But disaster struck last week when the van was being repaired and the welding work started a fire which badly damaged the interior of the ice cream van, effectively scrapping it. Mr Reed has now started a fundraiser, explaining to supporters that although the van was insured, it was likely they would only cover a small percentage of business losses.

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In a series of heartbreaking posts on Happy Cow’s social media channels, Chris shared photos of the inside of the ice cream van and described how it was devastated by the fire.

“The sad news is that we’re dealing with insurance companies that might undervalue everything,” he said. “We’ve completely lost our business, which means people will go elsewhere. We’ve lost our entire summer income that we rely on. We lost a pretty expensive van as well as the time, effort and money that went into the restoration project from day one.

“We’ve had to make staff redundant, which I’m very disappointed about as they’re students and also rely on an income. We would love to say that the insurance companies are generous and cover all of this, but we will have to wait and see,” he added.

“The purpose of this fundraiser is to provide immediate funding for my small business,” he explained. “With The Happy Cow now a total loss, insurance will likely only cover a small percentage of business losses. So with a little help from you, we can get back to what we all love and that’s eating the UK’s only plant-based ice cream very soon,” he added.

Mr Reed said he took the Happy Cow ice cream van into the garage last Thursday, June 27, for some routine maintenance. “During some welding work, the van caught fire, but before the mechanic had time to put out the fire, the body of the van was already engulfed in flames.

“We are absolutely devastated to lose such a valued part of my family in this way and also to let you all down,” he said in a message to customers. “I won’t be able to give you ice cream until I can buy all the new equipment. So, it is with great sadness that I have to say that as of today it has had to retire its wheels,” he added.

“I hope to be back very soon with some new ideas and a grade two version of The Happy Cow,” he said.