Winnow – the technology company behind the Winnow smart meter – helps chefs cut food waste by automatically measuring what gets thrown away. The London-based startup has just completed its Series A funding round of $3.3 million which was led by Mustard Seed and D-Ax.
Food waste in the hospitality sector is a large and longstanding problem. Celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall have both spoken out recently on this issue. They have invited supermarkets and the hospitality sector to drastically reduce the amount of waste they generate.
1/3 of all food worth $80bn+ is wasted annually. Winnow’s smart meter has calculated that it has already saved its customers $3m per annum. The company has worked with over 200 kitchens since launching in May 2013 – Compass Group, Accor Hotels, River Cottage Canteens, to mention some of them. These customers have seen a 30 – 60 % typical uplift in food profitability by reducing food costs. There is also a significant environmental benefit in reducing waste. Winnow have calculated that their clients are saving 850 tonnes of waste annually from landfill and prevent 3,600 tonnes of CO2 to be emissioned.
Winnow co-founder and CEO Marc Zornes stated: “We’re thrilled to participate in solving such an enormous problem for both the hospitality industry and for society as a whole. Food waste is a $1 trillion problem and there is enormous saving potential there. The impact we are having with our clients is tangible both in terms of waste reduction and return on investment. This capital gives us the resources to invest further in our product and take our business to the next level,”
The new funding will help the company scale domestically, build an international presence and also invest in product development. Winnow, which was founded in 2013, recently opened a new office in Singapore to serve the Asia-Pacific market. The team also received investment from a number of high profile private investors who all originally backed Winnow at seed round.
