Patience pays off for wholesale food marketplace
Summary
Wed burnt money in 2020 and 2021, so I started the year by saying this is the target we need to hit, he said.We wanted to at least double and we did 2.5 times growth from 2021s numbers. But at the same time the VC environment started to turn, so we only completed the raise in December. Part of that was us being able to continue to grow and meet our targets.The hospitality industry was one of the worst affected by COVID-19 lockdowns, and FoodByUs went from fast growth in 2018 and 2019 to a standstill in 2020.It dabbled in deliveries to consumers in this period something Mr Lipschitz said enabled wholesalers to stay afloat but he believes its decision to home in on the hospitality sector rather than consumer deliveries positioned the company well for tighter capital market conditions in 2022.We had two good years of marketplace growth, then two bad years in COVID-19, he said. The company was connected to its lead investor, Base Capital, via F J Labs. Base Capital has also backed local digital receipts business Slyp.We were... drawn to the combination of operating software with an open marketplace delivering an innovative approach to how restaurants and food suppliers manage their businesses, Base Capital partner Paul Rutherford said.Supporting this is a very strong growth trajectory along with excellentengagement and retention of customer.Mr Lipschitz said the capital would be invested predominantly in its product team, as well as growing its sales and marketing division.