Taking on the growing food waste problem and bringing fresh innovation to the food industry, Berlin-based Choco has just picked up an incredible €102 million and is the latest to join Germany’s ever-growing unicorn club.
The funding is an extension of a triple-figure Series B round closed last year, led by G Squared and Insight Partners. Existing investors include Bessemer Venture Partners, Insight Partners, Coatue, Target Global, Atlantic Labs, Greyhound Capital, Leftlane Capital, MPGI, Visionaries Club, Discovery Ventures and Christian Edler and Kevin Worner.
Founded in 2018, Choco is on a mission to transform the food industry’s business processes – bringing them in line to the standards of the digital world. The foodtech firm builds digital tools for foodservice businesses, doing away with the pen-and-paper and manual spreadsheets that many still rely on to order ingredients and record sales. Not only does this make business more streamlined and efficient, but it also means that food waste is reduced – contributing to greener practices.
Choco’s co-founder and CEO Daniel Khachab, explained: “The main problem with the food industry is that there are a variety of actors along the supply chain, starting with the grower or farmer and ending with the restaurant — and a number of transactions are taking place. But nearly everything is happening offline via fax, pen and paper and voicemails.”
Working with restaurants, suppliers and dark kitchens, Choco is able to enter a considerable market size and has claimed to have grown its users by 350% over the past year. It is also able to improve order accuracy, ensuring that food isn’t simply thrown away in the case of incorrect deliveries – cutting down on waste and on financial loss.
The firm aims to completely digitalise the global food wholesale market by 2026, and so, this new funding will go a long way in driving recruitment targets. The company currently has 400 employees and is expected to grow to 700 by the end of the year.
The company will also launch in new markets. Already active in the US, Germany, France, Spain, Austria and Belgium, it will also launch into Portugal.
CEO Khachab, added: “Wholesalers want to prepare for the digital age and need intuitive software for ordering, finance, and logistics that will enable them to remain competitive over the next 5 years. This demand is evidenced by the traction Choco’s software and services have received with their ability to increase profit margins and supply chain visibility through those vectors.”
G Squared’s Larry Aschebrook stated: “Choco has achieved incredible growth over the past year. We believe restaurants and the foodservice industry alike will need to adopt digital tools in order to be competitive in the long run. Choco is building a powerful ecosystem that will help to move the industry into the 21st century. We believe Choco can be the backbone of foodservice in the years to come. Their software already shows impressive levels of user engagement and true value creation for customers.”
