FoodLabs is a venture studio and investor for startups with solutions to feed ten billion people by 2050 in a sustainable and healthy way. Founded in 2016, the Berlin-based investor is one of Europe's leading venture firms for food & ag. It has supported over 20 mission-driven teams to launch their ideas and put great concepts into practice. The portfolio covers the entire value chain - from agtech, alternative protein sources, water supply, food security, vertical farming, to food waste and carbon reduction.

FoodLabs

One of the most active global food-tech VCs. We invest in teams and tech building a better food system.

Tet Ventures

Coatue is a privately owned hedge fund sponsor. The firm invests in the public equity markets globally focusing on investments in technology, media, and telecommunications in addition to other sectors. It employs a long or short strategy to make its investments.

Coatue

Micro VC supporting outstanding technology entrepreneurs across the globe.

Discovery Ventures

DST Global is an investment firm that focuses on late-stage ventures in the Internet sector. The firm has invested in several rapidly growing companies. Its offices are in Menlo Park, New York, London, Beijing, and Hong Kong. The firm was founded in 2009 by Yuri Milner, Saurabh Gupta, John Lindfors, Rahul Mehta, and Tom Stafford.

DST Global

Tencent is an internet service portal offering value-added internet, mobile, telecom, and online advertising services. Its communications and social platforms Weixin and QQ connect users with each other, with digital content and daily life services in just a few clicks.  Tencent has maintained steady growth under its user-oriented operating strategies. It provides value-added internet, mobile, and telecom services, as well as online advertising under the strategic goal of providing users with ''one-stop online lifestyle services.'' Tencent’s Internet platforms in China – QQ (QQ Instant Messenger), WeChat, QQ.com, QQ Games, Qzone, 3g.QQ.com, SoSo, PaiPai, and Tenpay – aim to address the various needs of internet users, including communication, information, entertainment, e-commerce, and others. In September 2013, Tencent's market valuation rose to $101 billion, and as of November 21, 2013, QQ had 2 billion active users and WeChat had 650 million monthly active users. The numbers of active users for QQ mail, Qzone, Tencent Weibo, and QQ news were 274 million, 626 million, 220 million, and 150 million, respectively. Tencent was founded in November of 1998. In April 2000, the IDG and PCCW invested a total of $2.2 million dollars in the company. Tencent was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (SEHK) on June 16, 2004. Baidu, Alibaba, and Netease are Tencent's major competitors.

Tencent

Dragoneer is an investment firm that focuses on disruptive businesses and experiences at the intersection of public and private markets. The firm seeks to invest in seed, early-stage, growth, and later-stage businesses. The firm was founded in 2012 by Marc Stad and is headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States.

Dragoneer Investment Group

‍Greenoaks makes concentrated, long-term investments in generational teams building enduring companies. The firm invests behind exceptional leaders early in their journeys, building partnerships that endure for decades.

Greenoaks

Founded in 2016, Fifth Wall, a Certified B Corporation, is the largest venture capital firm focused on technology for the global real estate industry. With approximately $3.0 billion in commitments and capital under management, Fifth Wall connects many of the world's largest owners and operators of real estate with the entrepreneurs who are redefining the future of the Built World. Fifth Wall is backed by a global mix of more than 90 strategic limited partners (LPs) from more than 15 countries, including BNP Paribas Real Estate, British Land, CBRE, Cushman & Wakefield, Host Hotels & Resorts, Kimco Realty Corporation, Lennar, Lowe's Home Improvement, Marriott International, MetLife Investment Management, Related Companies, Starwood Capital, Toll Brothers, and others. Fifth Wall believes this consortium represents one of the largest groups of potential partners in the global Built World ecosystem, which can result in transformational investments and collaborations with promising portfolio companies. For more information about Fifth Wall, its LPs, and portfolio, visit www.fifthwall.com.

Fifth Wall

Delivery Hero is a worldwide network of online food ordering sites, operating in 21 countries and with over 73,000 restaurant partners. Delivery Hero operates in Germany, UK, Austria, South Korea, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Australia, Switzerland, China, India, Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Panama, and Puerto Rico. The Group has more than 1000 employees globally, with 400 working from its Berlin Headquarters. Delivery Hero has received $523 million in investment in 2014 alone with investors including Insight Venture Partners, Luxor Capital Group, Kite Ventures, Team Europe, ru-Net, Tengelmann Ventures, Point Nine Capital, Vostok Nafta, and Phenomen Ventures.

Delivery Hero

Da Vinci Capital Management is a group of companies that focus on alternative investments, private equity and structured products. With offices in Guernsey and London, Da Vinci Capital Group currently has $450m under discretionary and advisory management. Da Vinci Capital was established in the summer of 2007 by a management team led by Oleg Jelezko. The partners in the Da Vinci Capital team are entrepreneurial professionals with extensive investment management, trading and private equity experience from the leading financial institutions in the emerging European markets.

Da Vinci Capital

Macquarie Capital Funds (Europe) Ltd. provides banking, financial, advisory, investment, and funds management services to institutional, corporate, and retail clients. It offers specialist and the United Kingdom investment funds, real estate capital, and renewable energy investment services; corporate and real estate structured finance advisory services; and financial services, including institutional stock broking and research, equity structured finance and derivatives, treasury and commodities activities, environmental market, lending and asset financing, and business lending. Macquarie Capital Funds (Europe) Ltd. was formerly known as Macquarie Investment Management (UK) Limited and changed its name to Macquarie Capital Funds (Europe) Ltd.

Macquarie Capital

Thrive Capital is a venture capital investment firm that focuses on building and investing in Internet, software, and technology-enabled companies.

Thrive Capital

Founded in 2011, G Squared is aligned with a fundamental shift: venture-backed companies stay private longer. As a result, private companies need both primary capital to continue their growth trajectory and transitional capital to provide liquidity to early investors, current and former employees, and other sellers. Positioned at the crux of this liquidity access challenge, G Squared partners with portfolio companies throughout their lifecycle using a fundamentally different approach than traditional VCs. The company invests in companies that challenge the status quo and demonstrate a clear path to superior returns, partnering with world-class entrepreneurs tackling big problems. G Squared funds have invested in household names such as 23andMe, Coursera, Instacart, Lyft, Pinterest, and Spotify, as well as in the next generation of disruptors, including Asana, Blend, Bolt, Brex, Capsule, Flexport, Impossible Foods, Toast, and Turo.

G Squared

ICU Ventures is a venture investment branch of ICU Group. It invests in early-stage technology companies with Eastern European roots. ICU Ventures provides companies not only with the capital but also with strategic support and a network of contacts to expand them internationally. Apart from gaming and gambling ICU Ventures is interested in investing across all the sectors.

ICU Ventures

BBQ Capital is an early-stage venture capital company.

BBQ Capital

Material V seeks disruptive ventures with a material global impact.

Material V

Alanda Capital Management is an investment firm focused on TMT, consumer, and business services sectors.

Alanda Capital Management

MSA Novo is one of the only global, institutional funds investing systematically across ETMs. Our portfolio includes 50+ companies across 14 different countries in LATAM, Africa, MENA and India, in companies like NuBank (NYSE:NU), Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR), Uber (NYSE: UBER), Boss Zhipin (NASDAQ:BZ), NIO (NASDAQ: NIO), Klarna, Swvl, Gorillas and many more

MSA Novo

A* Capital

Gorillas

Gorillas is a grocery delivery provider as it aims to aggregate supermarket product ranges delivered to consumers within 10 minutes of ordering. Gorillas help customers get what they need when they need it.  The company was founded in May 2020 and headquartered in Berlin, Germany.

Founded in 2020, German based Gorillas positions itself as a rapid delivery platform that aims to provide a quick delivery service using dark stores (micro fulfilment centres). The company has set up around 40 micro fulfilment centres across Germany, the UK and Netherlands, operating in more than 50 cities including Amsterdam, London and Munich. Customers are charged USD 2 or more per delivery. In January 2022, Gorillas <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/7989">acquired Frichti, </a>the French online meal and grocery delivery platform. Founded in 2015, Frichti started off by creating its own recipes and delivering pre-made meals prepared by its own staff, and then ventured into grocery delivery in 2018. Gorillas will have access to Frichti’s customers (more than 450,000) as well as its 25 micro fulfillment centres across France and Belgium. Frichti is expected to retain its own brand following the acquisition.

From fast food to fine dining, everything but the kitchen sink is suddenly just a tap away.

Online Food Delivery

Getir is exiting Europe and closing Gorillas as fast grocery delivery feels the chill

Tesco

Tesco and Gorillas join forces to test 10-minute delivery service

Founded in 2020, German based Gorillas positions itself as a rapid delivery platform that aims to provide a quick delivery service using dark stores (micro fulfilment centres). The company has set up around 40 micro fulfilment centres across Germany, the UK and Netherlands, operating in more than 50 cities including Amsterdam, London and Munich. Customers are charged USD 2 or more per delivery. In January 2022, Gorillas <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/7989">acquired Frichti, </a>the French online meal and grocery delivery platform. Founded in 2015, Frichti started off by creating its own recipes and delivering pre-made meals prepared by its own staff, and then ventured into grocery delivery in 2018. Gorillas will have access to Frichti’s customers (more than 450,000) as well as its 25 micro fulfillment centres across France and Belgium. Frichti is expected to retain its own brand following the acquisition.In February 2022, the company announced that it has set up a <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8646">holding company “Gorillas Technologies Holding BV” </a>in the Netherlands.In September 2021, Gorillas raised USD 950 million in a Series C funding round, valuing the company at USD 3 billion. The round was led by Delivery Hero, a German delivery company with an investment of USD 200 million.

DoorDash operates an online food delivery platform, connecting restaurants with customers, across the US, Australia, Canada and Japan. As of February 2022, the company was the market leader in the US among OFD players, with an estimated 58% market share according to Bloomberg Second Measure. Its US operations span over 4,000 cities, with more than 400,000 restaurant partners servicing over 18 million customers, as of April 2021. DoorDash is one of the first startups (along with Postmates) to offer a delivery facility through an aggregator platform, which competitor GrubHub only started in 2015. The company has also expanded into grocery and convenience store delivery over the last 2-3 years, with a hybrid business model consisting of a mix of supermarket partnerships and its own network of dark stores. As of June 2022, the company operated in 27 countries including the US, Canada, Japan, Germany, Australia, Israel, and New Zealand as well as countries in the Nordics, Baltics, Eastern and Central Europe, and the Caucasus.Prior to the pandemic, DoorDash charged restaurants a commission of up to 30% of order value, and a service or delivery fee from customers, depending on the type of service (takeout or delivery). However, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, third-party delivery platforms were criticized for their heavy commission fees, with several cities across the US imposing a temporary 15% delivery commission cap to support restaurants, given their higher dependency on third party food delivery providers. In response, DoorDash introduced a new three tiered commission structure for US restaurants (with less than 75 locations) in April 2021, ranging between 15%-30% delivery commission (+6% pickup commission), with limits on 1) delivery area; 2) app visibility; and 3) access to high-value DashPass customers, for the lower commission range. Under the new commission structure, consumers bear a higher share of delivery costs. Consumers who subscribe (USD 9.99 per month) to DashPass, however, are eligible for zero delivery fees on orders over USD 12.00. The company classifies DashPass subscribers as “high-value”, likely due to their frequency of ordering food delivery. In April 2022, the company launched <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9779">“DashPass for Students,” </a>a discounted subscription plan for college students. The new program builds on its existing DashPass (launched in 2018), allowing DoorDash to make its services more accessible to students across the US.&nbsp;DoorDash also operates other business models such as 1) DoorDash Self-Delivery: a platform that allows restaurants and food businesses to have a listing on the DoorDash platform, while using their own delivery people and setting their own delivery zone and fees (lower commission vs. restaurants that use DoorDash’s drivers); and 2) DoorDash Drive (Drive): a white-label product, which allows participating restaurants to offer delivery through their own apps or websites (instead of the DoorDash app) with delivery being carried out by DoorDash drivers. In March 2022, the company conducted a beta launch of its new feature “Return a Package,” allowing customers to return packages to the closest post office, UPS, or FedEx location. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19802">June 2023 </a>, DoorDash launched a new Earn by Time feature that enables drivers to choose between getting compensated for each delivery or being paid an hourly flat rate. DoorDash also launched a safety feature that allows drivers to share their location with up to five contacts. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/20692">July 2023 </a>, DoorDash tested Dash AI, an AI-powered chatbot, in select markets. DoorDash expects the technology to expedite the ordering process and enable customers to receive personalized restaurant recommendations by using simple text prompts. In&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/34376">September 2024</a>, the company launched DoorDash Commerce Platform, a suite of products designed to help merchants manage and grow their businesses through their own channels. The platform offers phone ordering with an AI-powered call-in systems and allows merchants to create their own branded mobile apps. It also launched&nbsp; “Ads Manager for Enterprise Restaurants,” a self-serve advertising platform that helps businesses manage marketing campaigns in&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/35652">October 2024</a>.&nbsp;In contrast to competitor UberEats - which has expanded aggressively through a series of acquisitions - DoorDash has predominantly grown organically, with the support of a few strategic acquisitions. DoorDash’s most recent acquisition was in March 2022, when it entered into a definitive agreement to <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8851">acquire Bbot, </a>a contactless ordering and payment solution provider. The purchase allowed the company to expand its in-store operations product suite for merchants, including in-store digital ordering and payments. Previously, the company acquired Chowbotics, the developer of a stationary salad-making robot, “Sally,” in February 2021. In July 2022, DoorDash announced plans to shut down Chowbotics. &nbsp;In August 2019, the company bought rival online food delivery platform Caviar for USD 410 million. The acquisition strengthened Doordash’s market share in Pennsylvania and Oregon, where Caviar had more than 10% market share.In June 2022, DoorDash completed its acquisition of Wolt, a Finland-based online food delivery platform. The acquisition expanded DoorDash’s global presence from four countries to 27. The deal was closed at a value close to USD 3.5 billion, although it was initially valued at USD 8.1 billion when announced in November 2021. This is a result of DoorDash's share price falling by more than 55% since November. DoorDash issued over 46 million shares to Wolt shareholders in the transaction. Wolt CEO Miki Kuusi was to head the company's operations outside the US, including Wolt’s 23 markets as well as Australia, Canada, and Japan. In less than two weeks following the acquisition, Wolt launched its new subscription service <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11037">Wolt+ </a>in Prague and scaled its operations in Israel by launching operations in Israel’s northern region.&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsDoorDash has restaurant partnerships with Chipotle, Denny’s, Wingstop and Little Caesars. In February 2022, DoorDash launched <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8416">DoorDash Capital </a>in partnership with Parafin, a financial services technology company, to provide revenue-based financing to eligible restaurants and DoorDash merchants. It would support investments in growth including purchasing equipment, hiring, marketing costs, rent, and payroll. That same month, DoorDash Storefront (launched in 2020) integrated with Google to offer commission-free online orders to restaurant partners in the US. In March 2021 Doordash partnered with Missouri-based family-owned supermarket retailer Schnuck Markets to deliver prepared meals from five store locations in St. Louis, Missouri, to addresses within a six-mile radius of the stores. In July 2022 the two companies expanded the partnership to include 25 locations across Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana. In January 2023 expanded its delivery <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2022/09/13/starbucks-and-doordash-to-launch-delivery-partnership-in-atlanta-expand-nationwide-in-2023/">partnership </a>with Starbucks to include the delivery of&nbsp; Starbucks products across all 50 US states by March 2023. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19802">June 2023 </a>, the company partnered with Amazon Canada to offer a free one-year membership of the company's subscription service, DashPass, to Amazon Prime members. The company also has a partnerships with AMC Theatres to deliver dine-in menu items from select US theaters (<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/34378">September 2024</a>).DoorDash generated a revenue of USD 8,635 million and incurred an operating loss of USD 579 million during the year ended December 2023.

DoorDash

Gousto is a subscription-based recipe kit startup based in the UK, with operations in the UK and <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/31074">Northern Ireland</a>. Customers have the option to select from two-person or family box options, with a choice between two and four recipes that may price a serving between USD 3.80 to USD 7.90. Gousto has a range of recipes catering to different customer preferences such as vegetarian, plant-based, gluten-free, dairy-free, DIY pizza bases, lean in 15, healthy choice, 10-minute meals as well as oven-ready options.Gousto <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8713">raised USD 230 million </a>in February 2022. The round followed an infusion of <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/7648">USD 150 million </a>in January 2022. Both rounds were led by Softbank’s Vision Fund 2. The company intended to use the funds to double its tech team by the end of 2022.The company reported revenue growth of 67% YoY to GBP 315 million (~USD 393.8 million) in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10005">FY2021. </a>Gousto reported that it had sold 90 million+ meals in 2021 compared to 53 million meals the previous year. EBITDA was up 10% YoY to GBP 20 million (~USD 25 million) in FY2021, while net cash from operations reported growth of 136% YoY to GBP 37 million (~USD 46.3 million).

Gousto

Mindful Chef, founded in the UK, provides health-focused meal kits with pre-portioned fresh ingredients, free-range chicken, 100% grass-fed beef and UK-landed fresh fish. A weekly box contains between two to five recipes and customers are able to choose from 16 recipes which are changed weekly, with vegan options as well as gluten-free and dairy-free options. The company caters to flexitarians, vegetarians and pescatarians, too. Additionally, the company donates a meal to a child in poverty for each meal purchased. Customers are able to skip, pause, cancel or schedule one-off deliveries at any time. The company also offers frozen meals and smoothies. As of September 2020, the company states that more than 5 million meals have been sold to more than 100,000 customers. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/31072">June 2024</a>, Mindful Chef launched its services in Northern Ireland.Key customers and partnershipsIn December 2021, the company partnered with the British supermarket brand <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinrozario/2021/12/28/waitrose-pioneers-recipe-box-service-with-mindful-chef/?sh=214ea7df40d5">Waitrose </a>to offer a co-branded recipe box that featured a Waitrose Cooks’ Ingredient product. In April 2022, the company expanded its partnership with Waitrose by launching a quartet of chilled ready meals available via Waitrose stores. In August 2022, the company partnered with Diabetes UK to launch a new meal range for customers with type 2 diabetes. The menus came with extensive nutritional labeling and include gluten-free, dairy-free, and plant-based options. In September 2023, Mindful Chef partnered with the fast food brand LEON to launch four healthy fast food recipes. In&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/35654">October 2024</a>, the company partnered with Zoe, a company offering programs focusing on gut heath to launch a gut-friendly recipe range.

Mindful Chef

HelloFresh delivers weekly meal kits, containing pre-portioned fresh ingredients and step-by-step recipes, to its subscribers in 18 countries (as of October 2022) across Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand, with a global base of 8.0 million active customers as of Q2 2022. Its meal kits are priced between USD 7.49–10.99 per meal, in-line with competitors Blue Apron and Marley Spoon, with consumers subscribing to a weekly (rather than monthly) service, which enables more flexibility to skip weeks. HelloFresh launched its own delivery fleets in the <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/24686">US </a>and the <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18306">UK </a>in 2023.HelloFresh has grown its US presence and product offerings through a combination of acquisitions and organic growth, aligned to its multi-tier brand strategy. The company acquired premium brand Green Chef in March 2018, and subsequently, extended its menu offerings to include organic meals for US customers, including special diets such as ketogenic and paleo. In <a href="https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/online/hellofresh-launches-specialist-diet-meal-kit-brand-green-chef-in-uk/655593.article">April 2021 </a>, following its success in the US market, Green Chef was expanded to the UK. In August 2022, Green Chef was also launched in the Netherlands. The company’s acquisition of Factor (a ready-to-eat meal company) in December 2020 was aimed at expanding into the convenience-focused customer segment. In terms of organic growth, the company launched its value brand, EveryPlate, in 2018 for budget-conscious consumers, featuring meal kits that average around USD 4.99 per serving.Overseas, HelloFresh acquired a ~10% stake in Russia’s largest meal-kit provider Chefmarket, in September 2021, through a cash capital increase. HelloFresh has also announced plans to acquire Australia-based ready-meals firm Youfoodz (announced in July 2021), which would expand its customer base in Australia as well as its presence in the ready-to-heat category.&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsIn&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/34379">September 2024</a>, HelloFresh partnered with the online food delivery platform Just Eat Takeaway (JET) to launch a twelve-week delivery trial of HelloFresh meals in&nbsp;Newcastle and London's Hackney. Under the&nbsp;partnership JET’s customers can order from eight HelloFresh recipes using&nbsp;JET’s online ordering platform.

HelloFresh

Territory Foods offers more than 35 different meals that are updated weekly and are either cooked prior to delivery or delivered as meal kits containing produce. Customers can choose to select delivery of weekly meal plans, individually customize a plan, or market boxes with fresh products to cook at home. Meals are free of refined sugars, gluten, and dairy, however, the company is not certified dairy-free, gluten-free or other allergen-free.In April 2021, the company raised USD 22 million in a venture round led by US Venture Partners and celebrity athletes Abby Wambach and Vernon Davis. The company intends to divert the fresh funds for its expansion into new cities. The investment round brings the total funds raised to date to USD 44 million.

Territory Foods

Platforms that offer ready-to-cook meal kits to individuals who are interested in cooking, but have limited time or skills. Meal kits usually include recipes with step-by-step instructions along with pre-portioned ingredients. Food delivery is often carried out by independent contract workers who are either registered with the platform or employed directly by the platform.

Platforms that prepare and deliver meals based on rotating menus that allow the customer to choose a meal plan of up to multiple dishes for a week with a low level of consumer involvement in cooking and plating. Food delivery is often carried out by independent contract workers who are either registered with the platform or employed directly by the platform.

On-demand delivery platforms that offer a wide range of items (such as various cuisines, groceries, etc)

On-demand delivery platforms that offer specific types of food or cuisine

Infrastructure providers that offer delivery or dispatch management systems

Infrastructure providers that offer white label online ordering websites and apps for restaurants to build their own in-house solutions

Infrastructure providers that offer solutions to help restaurants integrate and centralize online ordering and delivery systems from multiple third party vendors

Solutions in the "in-house ordering solutions" segment allow restaurants to build custom websites, menus, etc.

Most solutions available in "in-house ordering solutions" provide B2B SaaS solutions

Some OFD players such as Uber and Grubhub provide autonomous food delivery services

Gorillas

EDGE Insights

About EDGE

Contact Us

Resources

Area of Focus

Technology Research Made Effortless