Just Eat has selected the five Food Tech start-ups that will participate in its new Seed Programme, following the successful conclusion of its Accelerator Programme in January.
Just Eat will invest £20k in each company and host a comprehensive programme of mentoring, training and networking to give the start-ups a leg up on the next stage of their development.
The start-ups selected for the 12-week programme, which begins on 18 April, represent a varied cross-section of the Food Tech sector. This reflects Just Eat’s ambition to identify young companies with the potential to transform the food industry from Farm to Fork to Bin. They showcase the extraordinary potential for the sector to grow creatively, profitably and sustainably, for the benefit of consumers, restaurants and food vendors, and the wider community.
Stuart Mainwaring, head of Ventures at Just Eat, said, “Just Eat’s mission is to create the world’s leading food community. Our Accelerator and Seed programmes play a critical role in our efforts to develop a thriving Food Tech ecosystem in the UK, as we make investments in innovation and big ideas that will help drive forward this fast-growing sector in a sustainable way.
'Much like our successful first programme, the next 12 weeks will involve an intensive schedule full of challenges and opportunities to help these five fabulous start-ups learn and grow. They have each shown outstanding attributes – and huge potential – to stand out from a large crowd of applicants, so we’re excited to see how they continue to develop on our programme.”
The Seed Programme is designed to equip the start-ups with the tools and experience to secure seed funding in due course. The five start-ups participating in the Programme are:
· Buzzer (www.getbuzzer.com). Buzzer lets restaurants harness feedback to drive operational change and find out what their customers are thinking privately and in real time, meaning they can reward staff accordingly and ensure customers have a consistently great experience.
· Nourish’d (www.wearenourishd.com). Nourish’d aims to positively affect the health of society by helping companies subsidise the cost of healthy meals for their staff and deliver nutritionally balanced meals to your offices every day.
· MyBaker (www.mybaker.co). Baking has taken off in the UK in a big way. With a nation becoming increasingly obsessed with baking trends, MyBaker helps independent bakers and home bakers share their craft with customers looking for something special.
· Qincho (www.qincho.co). Qincho is a collaborative, research-driven centre for the future of food. Its mission is to scale the impact of new food and agricultural technologies on sustainability through enabling networks, empowering innovators and educating policy-makers.
· Sure (www.surebot.io). Recently launched on ProductHunt and with 10,000 users, Sure is a Facebook Messenger chatbot that curates the most Instagrammed food and drink spots around you. Sure sources and stitches influencer data from multiple sources and extracts personalised recommendations using machine learning and AI.