Online produce marketplace Foodomarket raises £9.5m to expand in UK

Digital food marketplace for the hospitality industry Foodomarket has raised £9.5m in a funding round to invest in its UK expansion.

Headquartered in France, the company provides a price comparison platform for commercial food businesses to purchase goods. Foodomarket handles and guarantees payments for suppliers.

After a 12 month trial in the UK which saw 500 restaurants in London sign up, the new funding will be used to support the company's official UK launch, including expansion out of London. The company also plans to use the funds to roll out its new app and website, and to expand its teams in local markets to provide customers with a tailored experience.

According to Light Speed, a software company for the hospitality sector, restaurants spend around a third of their revenue on food supplies; Foodomarket said that buying through its platform is typically 15% cheaper than via traditional distributors, after it conducted a benchmark exercise in France where they compared their prices to those of a major distributor.

Co-founders Eric Nivoix and Matthieu Boivent (pictured above) have worked together for over a decade in digital services.

Nivoix said: "We've had first-hand experience of launching and running restaurants, so we know the problems these business owners face day to day. Foodomarket was built by restaurant owners, for restaurant owners.

"Our impressive performance in France shows we're doing something right and launching our offering in the UK was the logical next step. We can't wait to hit the ground running."

The funding round was led by Alven Capital.

Image: Foodomarket