Food technology start-up Feedr has closed a pre-series A investment round of almost £1.54 million.
Launched in 2016 by entrepreneurs Riya Grover and Lyz Swanton, Feedr describes itself as an ‘intelligent lunch platform’ or ‘cloud canteen’ that provides employees with personalised healthy meals.
The start-up gives businesses the option to fully or partly subsidise the cost and claims to provide meals at a lower price than staff would be able to get on the high street.
The platform also incorporates machine learning-driven personalisation. Based on an employee’s choices, it creates more data-informed menus in what it describes as a ‘Netflix for food’ concept.
“We’ve seen dramatic shifts in the way consumers want to eat, yet most people fail to actually eat nutritious, fresh and varied food during their daily lunch hour at work,” said CEO Riya Grover.
“We’re really excited to disrupt this space, transform traditional food systems and make healthier food accessible from our curated collection of London’s best food vendors.”
The investment round was supported by Shazam backer Episode 1 Ventures; Errol Damelin, founder of Wonga and investor in CityMapper and TransferWise; Richard Glynn, former Ladbrokes boss and founder of Alinsky Partners; David Pritchard, founder of OpenTable Europe; and Founders Factory, Brent Hoberman’s accelerator fund.
Feedr will use the funding to invest in its technology to improve the online user experience, expand the choice of healthy meals and build out its machine learning-driven personalisation.
The company, which has enjoyed growth of over 300 per cent in the last 12 months, also plans to increase its salesforce and expand outside London.
Episode 1 partner Damien Lane said: “Feedr’s strong brand values address the rise of the conscious consumer with a greater awareness of ingredient quality, artisanal producers, food provenance and the impact of food consumption on health.
“The team brings incredible execution skills with a passion for shaping healthier futures.”
To date, Feedr has fed employees at over 400 companies including AirBnB, Etsy, DHL and PwC.