John Lewis Partnership & L Marks back WeFiFo
by Startacus Admin
'Airbnb for your kitchen table' startup WeFiFo have been backed by the John Lewis Partnership and investment specialists L Marks, following WeFiFo’s participation in JLAB, the leading UK retail accelerator programme.
Boosting WeFiFo’s mission to bring social eating and communal dining to the UK and beyond, WeFiFo had previously spent 12 weeks on the JLAB programme, working alongside partners in Waitrose and John Lewis focussing on offering supper clubs and other dining experiences in select Waitrose and John Lewis stores, as well as introducing their partners and customers to the wider WeFiFo community.
And as reported in today's Telegraph, WeFiFo will now gain £100k in investment from the continued partnership, with half coming from the retailer and half from investment specialist L Marks, which runs JLab.
WeFiFo was founded in 2016 to bring about a revolution in social eating, (We featured WeFiFo on Startacus in September). The company, based in 
Sussex, is the brainchild of Seni Glaister, a life-long food enthusiast, entrepreneur and the co-founder of The Book People. Standing for We Find Food, WeFiFo, aims to transform our attitudes towards eating out and is a platform for home cooks, supper club hosts and pop up restaurants to create and host food based events in their own home. WeFiFo markets these events to the hosts’ local community and connects people who love cooking, with those who love eating.
Speaking about the John Lewis Partnership backing WeFiFo CEO Seni Glaister says:
“Investment from the John Lewis Partnership – bringing with it as it does its association with trust, provenance and amazing food quality - is a real milestone for WeFiFo. We believe passionately in our mission to bring people together with food and to combat social isolation through eating together - a partnership with JLP will bring new audiences, talents and influence to bear.”
Going on to say:
“We are to the kitchen table what AirBnb is to the spare room. We want to be at the forefront of a social eating revolution that will see tens of thousands of people across the UK cooking for their neighbours and other guests who will quickly become new friends.”
The JLP investment follows WeFiFo’s recent award success, winning JLAB’s People’s Choice award, the Sussex Life Food & Drink award for Innovation and being shortlisted for the Lloyd’s Bank National Business Awards. Congrats to WiFiFo from team Startacus!
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Published on: 27th November 2017
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