Metro AG has announced that its investment fund LeadX Capital Partners has invested in Sweden's Matsmart, an online venture specialising in food waste reduction.
Matsmart, founded in 2014, buys surplus production and overstocks from companies like Unilever, Nestlé, and Mondelēz Sverige AB, and sells to consumers in Sweden and Finland at discounted rates.
The company aims to expand operations in Germany, and has raised over €17 million in September, bringing its total financing to €40 million.
Apart from LeadX Capital Partners, which was the lead investor, Matsmart also saw investments from several other groups, including Ingka Group (IKEA), Northzone, D-Ax, and Norrsken.
Expansion Plans
Karl Andersson, chief executive of Matsmart, said, "We have been looking for a partner that can support us expanding to Germany and the rest of Europe.
"We are very proud to have Metro onboard and strongly believe that they will add knowledge and know-how in many different ways."
Hansjoerg Sage, managing partner at LeadX Capital commented, "We are excited to welcome Matsmart to our portfolio, the team is a delight to work with and we have been highly impressed with their execution so far.
"We see a lot of potential to Matsmart’s solution, and are pleased to have the opportunity to support them in their plans to expand internationally."
Food Waste
Around 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted along the value chain worldwide, each year, mainly due to overproduction, non-compliance with the industry standards and best-before dates.
The German wholesaler has pledged to halve food waste in its own business operations by 2025.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
