A London-based food waste tech firm backed by celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is eyeing expansion after raising $3.3m (£2.3m) in a fundraising round supported by investors Mustard Seed and D-Ax.
The company claims to cut food waste in half by automatically measuring the amount of food which gets thrown away in the hospitality sector.
Winnow said food waste costs the food service industry an estimated $80bn-plus annually and it is already working with companies including Compass Group, Accor Hotels and River Cottage Canteens to save its customers $3m per year.
The fundraising round, which follows a $900k fundraising round also backed by Mustard Seed last year, was oversubscribed and was also backed by a number of hig-profile private investors.
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, who uses Winnow in his Winchester restaurant, said: “It’s clear that many others in our sector could benefit from using Winnow to reduce their waste and costs. It’s a real no-brainer for the hospitality industry.”
Winnow estimates its clients are saving 850 tonnes of waste annually from landfill or 3,600 tonnes of CO2 emissions prevented.
It is now planning to expand globally and recently opened a new office in Singapore to serve the Asia-Pacific market
“We’re thrilled to be solving such an enormous problem for both the hospitality industry and for society as a whole,” Winnow co-founder and CEO Marc Zornes said.
”Food Waste is a $1 trillion problem and there is enormous savings potential in addressing this issue. The impact we are having with our clients is tangible both in terms of waste reduction and demonstrated return on investment. This capital gives us the resources to invest further in our product and offer as well as take our business to the next scale.”
Henry Wigan, director at Mustard Seed, added: “Winnow is precisely the kind of company Mustard Seed seeks out, not least because Marc and his team are brilliant. Winnow’s innovative model harnesses commercial returns to create extremely scalable environmental impact.”
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