Sustainable grocery delivery service Modern Milkman has raised £50 million in total funding after closing its Series C investment round.
The round is led by existing investors Insight Partners and ETF Partners, new top-tier investors Praetura Ventures and Avery Dennison, as well as several angel investors.
Experiencing growth of over 500% on average each year since its inception in 2018, the firm expects to break even in the UK market in 2022 and also to close the year with over 100% year-on-year revenue growth.
Modern Milkman, which recently partnered with LegalTech startup Summize and was fifth on our EnviroTech 50 ranking, will use funding to increase research and development into new product innovation, pioneering technologies and achieving UK-firsts – all whilst supporting global expansion strategies.
Committed to leading the battle against plastic waste, Modern Milkman was founded by Simon Mellin and his friends four years ago. Now, working with a network of independent suppliers and proudly supporting British dairy farming, the brand boasts 16 hubs across England and claims to have saved over 55 million plastic bottles to date.
The addition of new investor Avery Dennison – innovators in the branding and packaging space – will support Modern Milkman’s ongoing sustainability efforts through the development of pioneering technology to reduce packaging waste.
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Combining technology with sustainability, the brands will work together to creatively use radio frequency identification inlays and tags (RFID tags) to monitor and track the journey of Modern Milkman’s reusable glass bottles. This will be the very first time this technology has been employed to identify the end-to-end lifecycle of returnable glass bottles in the UK, ultimately reducing waste and increasing eco-efforts across the grocery sector.
“We are thrilled to continue our support of Simon and the Modern Milkman team,” said Jeff Lieberman, MD at Insight Partners. “Modern Milkman is at the forefront of combining a strong business model with an emphasis on supporting the environment, all while providing an accessible digital customer experience.
“We are pleased to work alongside them in the next steps of their journey.”
Avery Dennison’s Hassan Rmaile, senior vice president, EMENA & global innovation label and graphic materials, added: “Avery Dennison is committed to doing its part to reduce packaging waste, and strongly supports the development of innovations to achieve this.
“We believe our investment and future collaborations with The Modern Milkman can help drive new circular business models for consumers.”
Simon Mellin, CEO and founder at Modern Milkman, said he was “looking forward to collaborating with and learning from leaders in the tech industry… helping customers to be sustainable throughout a period of inflation – not only at home in the UK, but internationally too”.
The company is launching a crowdfunding campaign on November 29th.
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