Fresho’s £8m series A accelerates UK and US expansion plans

by Startacus Admin

Fresho secures investment to support expansion and further its mission of making food supply chains more sustainable.

Good news from Fresho, a company that aims to make food supply chains more sustainable between restaurants and their suppliers with the announcement of a recent capital raising of £8 million.

Fresho is used by tens of thousands of chefs who simply reach for their device to choose exact quantities for their needs, much like an online shopping experience but specifically tailored to the fast paced B2B food industry. Buyers see live prices and specials, allowing for informed product choices and assistance in food cost management. Suppliers receive the order immediately in an easy-to-use dashboard, which reduces data entry, errors and helps them fulfil orders without delay. The real time sales data enables suppliers to manage purchasing more efficiently and eliminates wastage before it becomes an issue. See how it works here.

More than 38,000 foodservice venues across the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States have now used the innovative software solution, with more than £700 million processed through the platform annually. Fresho’s user base consists of restaurants, hotels, hospitals, cafes, schools, farm shops, QSRs and independent retailers.

Fresho co-founder and Managing Director James Andronis, a former wholesale seafood senior executive from Australia, said increased investment in Fresho’s team and its leading-edge technology was driving the business. “We’ve managed to attract some of the best talent in the UK, Australia and New Zealand and they’re steering our continued investment in state-of-the-art technology,” Mr Andronis said. Fresho now employs over 60 people after launching in the UK in 2021. 

“This capital raise will enable us to accelerate our growth in the United Kingdom and a strong launch into the United States. Like our other markets, restaurants and suppliers in the US are itching to be more progressive but still working with antiquated processes such as email, phone calls, whatsapp and even the old fax machine. B2B food supply chains are changing at a rapid rate around the world with an increased focus on efficiency and lowering waste. We understand the industry and our tech solves key pain points for these businesses. The adoption of tech is speeding up and it’s fascinating to watch the industry progress at such a fast pace.”

The food service market in those four key markets is worth a whopping £330 billion and is one of the last remaining antiquated industries with a lot of offline interactions.

This funding round adds a number of new investors to a strong existing base that includes London based Primorus Investments (LON:PRIM). New investors include venture-capital firm Capital Zed, Andrew Sypkes (who was an early-stage investor in Canva, Aconex and Redbubble), and Second Quarter Ventures (Australia’s leading secondaries fund).

Fresho’s other co-founder and Managing Director Huw Birrell, a former investment banker, reflected on the impact his business’ rapid recent growth is having in making food supply chains more sustainable. “A combination of the depth and breadth we hold in the food supply chain across various geographies, along with our leading-edge technology means we have an incredible bank of insights into food trends and market movements.”

“We intend to use this intelligence to help drive improved sustainability in the sector and ensure increased prosperity for all participants in it. As an example, we recently worked with Apple & Pear Australia Ltd that represents Australia’s apple and pear growers to provide data on which varieties have had increasing or declining consumption which they previously had no access to.  The power of this data is extraordinary and has the ability to change growing decisions in the future.”

Mr Birrell added that he and his team harbour ambition to be the world’s leading ordering platform for food supply chains, and a major source of intelligence for the food industry.

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• #startup
• #funding
• #supply chain
• #food sector
• #b2b
• #expansion
• #series a

Published on: 7th June 2022