Warsaw-based Foodsi raises €1.2 million to combat food waste in restaurants and stores

Foodsi, a Polish marketplace for surplus food from restaurants, bakeries, and stores, has raised €1.2 million in a seed round extension, bringing the total value of the round to over €2.5 million. The financing was provided by existing and new investors, including AIP Seed, Satus Starter, and AC/VC Impact Fund. The new funds will enable Foodsi to continue growing, expand its product and sales teams, and increase operational efficiency. The company is also preparing for the subsequent funding round.

Foodsi effectively combats food waste and promotes the “less waste” concept. The company has created a platform that allows eateries and shops to sell off surplus food. This enables customers to enjoy high-quality products at up to 70% discounts. Users can choose from the offers of venues available on Foodsi and reserve their selected package in seconds. This package will be available for pickup on the same or the next day before the venue closes. The contents of the package are always a surprise and depend on the current menu or regular sales at the specific location.

Businesses avoid wasting excess products, leading to additional revenue and the attraction of new customers—all with a positive environmental impact.

The mobile application, created by Mateusz Kowalczyk (CEO) and Kuba Fryszczyn (CTO), is used by nearly 2 million users who, since its inception, have saved almost 5 million food packages worth tens of millions of EUR. The initiative aligns perfectly with the Sustainable Development Goals, proving that a solid business model can go hand in hand with positive environmental impact.

“Resources get wasted at many points along the supply chain and in different markets. We’re working on new ideas to change that. We’re testing various ways to save resources and hope to share more soon. Even though it’s been a tough year for European startups, we’ve kept growing. We’re seeing more interest in what we’re doing, and we expect to keep growing so we can make an even bigger impact—even beyond Poland,” said Mateusz Kowalczyk, CEO and co-founder of Foodsi.

Foodsi operates on a managed marketplace model. Users can choose from over 6,000 partnering venues across various regions of Poland. These include major cities like Warsaw, Wrocław, Kraków, Poznań, and the Tricity area, but not exclusively. The app features bakeries, confectioneries, restaurants, cafes, and grocery stores. Foodsi collaborates with small local businesses as well as well-known brands like Carrefour, Wedel, Etno Cafe, Cofix, Campanile, Herbapol, and many others.

The platform also launched a pilot for a new solution aimed at manufacturers. It allows the sale of products with short expiration dates, delivered directly to homes. The offerings also include products related to seasonal distribution, rebranding, and overproduction, enabling users to obtain full-value products at very attractive prices. These include food items, meal kits, cosmetics, plants, and many other products at risk of going to waste.

“We are immensely impressed by the continuous and dynamic growth of the company, which is a result of the hard work of the founders and the entire Foodsi team. We believe that the additional investment will provide the necessary fuel to continue this trend, among other things by enabling the implementation of Mateusz and Kuba’s next ideas. Additionally, we are pleased that we will participate to a greater extent in this success,” commented Bartek Knichnicki, Partner at Satus Starter.

“Back in February 2021, we invested in an excellent team and their initial traction with strong conviction that this team would deliver success. We continued our commitment with the seed round two years ago and now double-down on its extension, increasing our stake also through the buyback of secondaries. Since our initial investment, Foodsi has achieved 30-fold growth, proving it’s one of the fastest-growing companies in our portfolio,” added Darek Żuk, CEO & Founder of AIP Seed.

The post Warsaw-based Foodsi raises €1.2 million to combat food waste in restaurants and stores appeared first on EU-Startups.