HomeFundingHamburg-based Circus raises €11 million to create a new era for food...

Hamburg-based Circus raises €11 million to create a new era for food delivery services

German startup Circus has just raised €11 million in a new fundraising round. The team are aiming to tackle surmounting challenges in the food delivery space, making it more sustainable, more convenient and more affordable. 

Food delivery has been one of the stand-out market areas in Europe’s startup community over recent years. The food delivery bubble grew at an incredibly fast pace during the days of the pandemic, gifting us unicorns like Glovo and Delivery Hero and titans of the industry like Getir and Gorilla. These are all names which are now instantaneously recognisable across Europe and continue to hit the headlines. 

More recently, though, the food delivery space has been hitting the headlines for different reasons – not just because of business success and prowess. Mass layoffs, budget cuts, acquisitions and so forth have hit the space as the pandemic days fall behind us and the reality of how these businesses operate has come to light. 

There’s a Geman startup on a mission to change the perception though, and it’s just raised new funding to grow. Introducing Circus. 

Funding details

  • €11 million raised in a seed round
  • Investors include BlackMars Capital and 2bx.
  • Funding will be used to expand across Germany

Founded in 2021 by Carsten Wille, Nikolas Bullwinkel, Helge Plehn and Fabio Haebel, Circus is on a mission to shake up food delivery. The founders include well-known names, behind German startups like etepetete, Flink and Medicamendo, who are experts in two things: Sustainable food and fast delivery concepts. To wrap it up, a restaurateur completes the team.

Carsten Wille: “We want to be able to expand our kitchen hubs to bring good food to everyone. There is no convenient, affordable and fresh food delivery offer in European cities. Through our infrastructure and the maximum of flexibility, we are able to build a strong network in a short amount of time and thus make the most out of the funding.” 

The startup is aiming to address core challenges in the food delivery market – that existing services are expensive, inflexible, unhealthy and unsustainable. 

Circus, in contrast, intends to do things differently. It’s system relies upon its own infrastructure of drivers and so-called “micro-kitchen hubs”. As such, the Circus’ delivery service can adapt as flexibly as possible to the consumers’ behaviour. Over 100 different dishes starting from €3 are already available for Hamburg customers.

The idea is to create a new generation of delivery meals where everything happens under one roof – just like a circus. Users simply select what they want on the app, have it cooked in the hub and then get it delivered where they want. 

With the new money, Circus wants to expand to other big German cities by the end of 2023.

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Patricia Allen
Patricia Allen
is the Head of Content at EU-Startups. With a background in politics, Patricia has a real passion for how shared ideas across communities and cultures can bring new initiatives and innovations for the future. She spends her time bringing you the latest news and updates of startups across Europe, and curating our social media.
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