LJMU graduates Kayleigh Baccino and Talia Baccino of Trendy Vend Ltd have secured £1m of private investment from Hi-Tech Media that will enable them to take their business to a national scale. Trendy Vend supplies cosmetic vending machines with digital advertising screens to washrooms in upmarket bars, clubs and restaurants. The first machines were installed in a small number of Liverpool bars and the design updated to include an advertising screen where the content can be updated remotely from a laptop.
Kayleigh and Talia started their business with the support of LJMU's 2008 Entrprise Fellowship Programme and later went on to win a £10,000 investment from the Morgan Foundation Entrepreneur Awards in 2009.
The £1m private investment enables Trendy Vend Ltd to tap into the Hi-Tech Media network and roll out 250 machines nationally, including, for the first time, a men's version with useful products like hair-wax and aftershave.
The LJMU Student Enterprise team has worked closely with Trendy Vend Ltd since the business started, providing business advice, specialist support, creating introductions and helping to raise their profile. Dominique Aspey of LJMU commented, "The news of this investment is fantastic and wholly deserved. Kayleigh and Talia have worked tirelessly on their business idea and have been innovative in their use of the design and the incorporation of a remotely-managed advertising screen. We are very proud of their achievements and wish them every success in their national expansion".
For more information about Trendy Vend Ltd, please visit the website www.trendyvend.co.uk
For more information about LJMU's Enterprise Fellowship Programme and the LJMU Start-Up Entrepreneurs Network, please contact Dominique Aspey on 0151-231 8062 or email d.aspey@ljmu.ac.uk
