Behind the scenes with Peasholm Park Vegan B&B

Peasholm Park Vegan B&B offer visitors to Scarborough a completely vegan holiday experience.

From supplying vegan-only fridges and engaging with visitors over one of the best vegan breakfasts you’ll ever be served, Helen and Karl have really understood the problems that vegan travellers and holidaymakers face and created an experience to remove all these.

We caught up with Helen Plant to talk about their experiences and what tips they have for anyone thinking of launching a vegan business.

What were the two of you doing before this?

We were living in Derbyshire, raising our two fantastic children, Joe and Grace. Karl was working in engineering and I was a primary school teaching assistant.

We’ve both had several jobs over the years, which have helped us acquire skills for our current adventure!

What gave you the push from idea to making it happen?

We’d been to a hotel for a night for our anniversary, and the smell of the breakfast area was unbearable – we went back home for our own vegan breakfast!

We’d been talking for some time about opening either a vegan B&B or café; we wanted to live a fully vegan lifestyle, incorporating our jobs into spreading peace and kindness.

As a family business, what is it like working together every day?

It’s been shocking (she laughs!) Joking – we’ve adapted very well. We have the same goal and enjoy what we’re achieving.

We’ve been together 26 years, so we know each other very well! Joe has been fantastic assisting with our social media and advertising, and he and Grace have been massively helpful on the housekeeping front.

Are there new skills that you have had to learn in the process?

There’s been much to learn about running a B&B! Booking platforms, fire regulations, legal requirements, accounting systems, and more.

Ensuring guests have the best possible experience in a completely cruelty-free environment is the main goal, and there’s much preparation needed to attain it.

How much has veganism and compassion played a role in the development of the business?

100% – it’s the core of what we do. We would not be running a B&B if veganism and compassion wasn’t the driving force.

We aim to remain compassionate towards people who suffer the disconnection from what is on their plates to the suffering of animals. We must have the understanding that it is a suffering mind that inflicts pain on another sentient being.

What are your top five tips for someone running a vegan business?

• Believe in what you’re doing and always have good intentions at heart.
• Don’t give up – make the movement move!
• Establish a network and support with other vegan businesses.
• Self-care – to be the best that you can be, and to be of benefit to others.
• Acceptance of the outcome – always with a peaceful mind.

Lisa Fox says, “Being passionate vegans themselves, Helen and Karl have understood the problems vegans often experience when going on holiday, from being served nonvegan cereals as the vegan breakfast option to not knowing where to go out for dinner locally. By creating a vegan holiday experience which removes all these problems and replaces them with 100% vegan options and experiences, they have found success within the niche of vegan holidays.”

Learn more about Peasholm Park at www.peasholmpark.co.uk

You can read more interviews by Lisa Fox with vegan businesses at www.veganbusinesstribe.com Join the Vegan Business Tribe to get access to regular weekly advice, support, interviews, videos and online vegan business seminars.