Family business expands with mobile food trailer after £25,000 Start Up Loan.
Aberdeen’s Jungle Berry Açaí, a family-run business led by 25-year-old entrepreneur Otavio De Freitas Ferreira and his mother Angela, is expanding with a new mobile food trailer. This development, supported by a £25,000 loan through the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme via DSL Business Finance, will take their authentic açaí bowls beyond their city centre café.
Subject to licensing approval, the trailer’s preferred fixed location will be Aberdeen Beach. It will also serve events, approved private sites, corporate catering, and support Jungle Berry franchise growth across Scotland.
Their signature smoothie bowls feature premium açaí berries from the Amazon rainforest, customisable with over 30 toppings, including strawberries, coconut flakes, granola, and Biscoff spread. Smoothies, coffee, cold drinks, and other light refreshments are also available.
Otavio, originally from Belo Horizonte in Brazil, moved to Aberdeen in 2020. He and Angela founded Jungle Berry Açaí as a personal project following the loss of Otavio’s older brother, Matheus, in 2022. Inspired by a Jungle Berry café in London, Otavio secured master franchise rights for Scotland, opening their first café at 409 Union Street in August 2025.
The £25,000 loan financed the trailer’s purchase and preparation, specialist refrigeration and catering equipment, initial stock, branding, licensing and compliance costs, and provided working capital for the business.
Otavio De Freitas Ferreira said: “Jungle Berry started during an incredibly difficult period for our family, but it has grown into something really positive. My mum and I wanted to create a business that reflected our Brazilian background while providing a welcoming and healthy place for people in Aberdeen. Just over a year since the opening of the Union Street café, the trailer represents the next stage of that journey. It gives us a more flexible and lower-overhead way to reach customers at approved outdoor locations, events and private sites, with Aberdeen Beach remaining our preferred fixed location subject to licensing approval. The Start Up Loan helped us turn the idea into a real business asset. It allowed us to purchase and prepare the trailer while building on the existing infrastructure and experience we already have at Union Street.”
Otavio aims to continue growing the Jungle Berry brand throughout Scotland by supporting new franchises. He also seeks to create more opportunities to bring healthy food to communities through mobile trading, events, and corporate catering.
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Barry McCulloch, Senior Manager, Local Growth Team, British Business Bank, commented: “It’s fantastic to see Jungle Berry Açaí capitalise on the success of its café as it prepares for the next stage of its growth. Otavio has built a business with a strong personal story at its heart, and the new trailer will give Jungle Berry the flexibility to reach even more customers while supporting its longer-term ambitions across Scotland. We’re pleased the Start Up Loans programme has been able to support this expansion and look forward to seeing the business continue to flourish.”
Rekha Welsh, loan officer at DSL Business Finance, added: “At DSL Business Finance, we see first-hand the difference that practical financial support can make when an entrepreneur has a clear plan for their business. Otavio had a very clear purpose for the funding, with the Start Up Loan helping to fund the trailer, equipment, stock and associated set-up costs. He has a real passion for the business and has drawn on his hospitality experience to create something distinctive in Aberdeen. It has been a pleasure for DSL Business Finance to support Otavio through the Start Up Loans programme and see those plans being put into practice.”
Since its launch in 2012, the Start Up Loans programme has provided over £3m to business owners in Aberdeen and more than £4m across Aberdeenshire. Across Scotland, the programme has delivered 9,158 loans worth over £90m to smaller businesses.
