A RISING Cumbrian baked goods business, Vie’s Jamaican Rum Cakes, has launched a new crowdfunding campaign to raise £5,000 for a van to aid the firm's growth.

Company founder Elaine Rémy launched the fundraiser earlier this month to coincide with her parents’ wedding anniversary since the secret 'rummy recipe' that inspired the business came from her mother, Vie.

Ms Rémy explained: “My parent’s were married for 54 years and gave me so much in their lifetime, their wedding anniversary just felt like the right day to launch. In all I do, I want to honour them and in particular my mother, Agnes Viola Henry, aka “Vie”.

"Mum was a strong Jamaican woman, a descendent of slaves whose ancestors worked the island’s sugar cane fields. Like many who travelled to Britain in the 1960’s hoping for a better life, she settled and worked hard for her family, but never forgot her Jamaican heritage, becoming renowned for her very rummy rum cakes.

"Her family recipe passed down from generation to generation is now being enjoyed by so many people and I’m sure if mum was still here she’d be very proud.”

Vie passed away in 2018 and Ms Rémy moved to Cumbria the following year.

Elaine says she was inspired to turn her loss into a legacy that honoured her mother’s memory and recognised both her new home of Cumbria as well as her Jamaican roots.

If successful, the £5,000 crowdfunding campaign will be matched by NatWest Back Her Business, giving a £10,000 boost to the blossoming business.

Prizes up for grabs in return for supporting Vie’s Jamaican Rum Cakes range from slices to entire cakes, besides tickets for the exclusive Roots, Rum, Reggae launch event later in the year, and the possibility of getting your own logo on the new van.

£,1000 has already been raised in its first morning and the campaign closes on August 3, 2020.

Ms Rémy spoke of the boost she believes the motor vehicle would afford her growing business: “The van would make such a huge difference to me, I’ll be able to make less trips yet deliver more cakes professionally and in perfect condition, it really will make the whole process more efficient.

"It’s an amazingly uplifting feeling to be supported by people who want to see Vie’s Jamaican Rum Cakes succeed, especially as many of these people are strangers! I am incredibly grateful to all who have supported me so far – thank you.”