Food Procurement Tool Raises $100 Million
Berlin-based Choco has raised $100 million in Series B funding. The new round comes just over a year after Choco’s $63.7 million Series A and brings the company’s funding to a total of $171.5 million in just three years.
Choco is a technology tool for hospitality operators, enabling more efficient food procurement processes and reducing operational expenses between restaurants and suppliers. The company’s core product is a digital ordering workflow and communication tool for restaurants and suppliers to facilitate food procurement. Choco has over 10,000 active restaurants and suppliers on its platform across the US and Europe.
The Mission
Choco’s mission is to make the food supply chain more transparent and sustainable in order to help increase margins in the food service sector and combat climate change. Food waste is the third largest driver of climate change and the single largest reason for deforestation; as much as 40% of the world’s food goes to waste before reaching a customer’s plate due to a myriad of steps within the supply chain. Choco works with food industry leaders, suppliers, distributors and restaurants to help digitize the food supply chain and enable more efficient food procurement processes and business growth.
The company has made key hires to continue to push innovation, starting with the recent hire of Vikas Gupta, formerly with Uber and Facebook, as CTO. With Gupta at the development helm, Choco will continue adding new functionalities that respond and cater to real-time changes in the food services industry.
The Series B funding will help Choco continue their momentum into 2022, growing its existing customer footprint in its six current markets: the United States, Germany, France, Spain, Austria, and Belgium.
The round is led by New York-based growth equity firm Left Lane Capital, who is joined by venture capital and private equity firm Insight Partners, with further participation from existing investors Coatue Management and Bessemer Venture Partners.