One-third of the food grown in the world is wasted. Food waste is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Based in London, Oddbox is a social impact business fighting food waste in UK farms with innovative solutions.
Secured £16M
Recently, the UK company has secured £16 million in funding from BurdaPrincipal Investments (BPI), the growth capital arm of media and tech company Hubert Burda Media.
The new funds will be used to accelerate Oddbox’s contribution to fighting food waste by enhancing customer experience, expanding its UK footprint, and increasing share options for employees.
With this funding, BPI joins Oddbox’s existing investors, Mercia Asset Management and Seedrs, who led a £3m funding round in March 2020.
Fighting food waste
Founded by Deepak Ravindran, and Emilie Vanpoperinghe in 2016, Oddbox is a provider of fruit and vegetable box delivery services intended to reduce food waste. It delivers its boxes directly from the growers to people’s doorsteps across London, the South, and the Midlands.
The company saves fresh fruit and veg which is deemed ‘too big, ‘too ugly’, the ‘wrong’ colour, or ‘not needed’ from going to waste. The UK company is building a community that together can play its part in fighting food waste and tackling climate change.
3M boxes delivered
With nearly three million boxes delivered since it launched in 2016, Oddbox has already saved 18,834 tonnes of food waste, the equivalent of how much food 40,943 people would eat in a year, intending to save 150,000 tonnes by 2025.
The company has registered an exponential six-fold year-on-year growth in revenue in 2020 and has a highly loyal and engaged community.
Amelia Townsend, Principal of BurdaPrincipal Investments, said: “We are very inspired by Emilie and Deepak, the Oddbox founders, with their clear and authentic purpose to tackle food waste and the impressive and scalable platform they have built to enable this. We are delighted to be joining the journey to accelerate this mission.”
Oddbox co-founders Emilie Vanpoperinghe and Deepak Ravindran added: “With our recent growth we’ve identified key areas for Oddbox to develop and further our mission to fight food waste. So while we continue to retain majority stakes, we wanted an investor to help make these developments happen, and importantly who also shares our vision that business is a force for good. We’ve found that in Burda, as they’re committed to long-term sustainability, a principal at the core of Oddbox.”
Mercia first invested in Oddbox in March 2020 through its Northern Venture Capital Trust (VCT) Funds. Ishaan Chilkoti of Mercia said: “Oddbox offers a compelling proposition for today’s ethical consumers. Since our initial investment, the company has grown rapidly and embarked on a nationwide expansion plan. This latest funding will enable the team to make an even bigger impact.”
The post London-based sustainable food delivery firm Oddbox raises £16M to fight food waste appeared first on UKTN (UK Tech News).
