ChefMe raises pre-seed round to strengthen its position as the Nordics leading private chefs platform
Amsterdam, November 29, 2022: Rockstart, global early stage investor and accelerator, announces its co-investment in ChefMe, a Rockstart AgriFood portfolio company. The €700k round was led by business angel investor Bjørn Bruun and HumanAct VC alongside Rockstart and Moonraker Ventures. The startup plans to utilize this capital to further strengthen its position as the Nordics’ leading private chefs platform, expand into new markets, and develop new features that ensure consistent high-quality service and training of its chefs.
The European restaurants & foodservice market is expected to grow by US$ 144.3 bn between 2020-2026, progressing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.4% during the forecast period. In 2021, the global market size of catering services and food contractors was $187.64 bn. This figure was expected to increase to $275.90 bn in 2022. By 2026, the market is forecast to reach $378.39 bn at a CAGR of 8.2 percent. The European events catering industry was estimated at €18bn a couple of years ago.
After the pandemic, the restaurant industry was in high demand for chefs and is still struggling to find them. According to a survey by ChefMe, many chefs found new jobs in areas unrelated to cooking. As these chefs are searching out alternative means of practicing their careers, many have begun using ChefMe. ChefMe enables food lovers to hire a private chef for their next event with just a click of a button. With more than 600 chefs on the platform and close to 200 events per month, they are already Denmark's leading marketplace for hiring private chefs.
ChefMe focuses first and foremost on offering a great experience to our customers. When hosting a company event or a dinner, the most important thing for a great evening is presence, in other words being able to enjoy the event and to spend time with the guests. This is what ChefMe delivers: a great food experience for our customers and not having the hassle of running a business for our chefs. This funding round enables us to further strengthen our position as Denmark's leading private chefs platform and to develop new features.Thomas Mamburay, CEO & Founder, ChefMe
I have been using ChefMe for some time now, and one of the things I really love about the service is the fact that ChefMe enables me to focus on what I’m good at, creating memorable food experience for hosts and their guests. ChefMe sources customers, handles payment, and makes sure the business side of things runs smoothly, so basically all the things I don’t have time to do.Henrik Boserup, Danish TV chef & one of the chefs using ChefMe
I invested in ChefMe, because I love the idea of home dinners and I feel Thomas has the will to execute and create a great business. I always enjoy going for dinners in more private settings, where you can be more free and relaxed, enjoy good food and company. In my business life, I know how important it is to get closer and connect with colleagues and business partners, it always works better in private surroundings. This also creates a more belonging and family feeling.Bjorn Bruun, Investor
When we first invested in ChefMe in 2019, it was in large part thanks to Thomas's entrepreneurial talent - he has tenacity, passion, and a vision for change. Over the years, Thomas has guided ChefMe through very tough waters such as the Covid-19 pandemic and he has mastered his talent in the process. We are delighted to continue with our investment in ChefMe, and to pursue our collaboration with Thomas and the team.Mark Durno, Managing Partner AgriFood, Rockstart
The AgriFood fund is Rockstart’s first fund launched in 2019. Rockstart AgriFood has 41 portfolio companies to date, with 37 investments in 2022 alone making Rockstart one of the most active AgriFood investors in the world. The Rockstart AgriFood portfolio companies have collectively raised more than €40m in total thus far.
ChefMe is a chef-to-consumer marketplace, where customers looking to host a dinner party, wedding, or company event can book a private chef. The chef takes care of the whole process from buying the ingredients, to cooking and serving the food and cleaning the kitchen after the event. With more than 600 chefs signed up to ChefMe, the startup is already the Nordics leading marketplace for private chefs. The startup is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark.
About Rockstart
Rockstart is an early stage investor that empowers purpose-driven founders across three domains: Energy, AgriFood, and Emerging Technologies.
Rockstart invests in early-stage startups from each of the three funds and provides access to capital, market, and expertise by connecting founders with co-investors, mentors, partners, corporates, and the wider Rockstart network.
Rockstart has invested in more than 350 startups and its alumni value to date is more than €1.6bn. Rockstart is an international team of 45+ professionals dedicated to empowering purpose-driven founders to become scalable and drive positive change on a global scale. Rockstart has notable exits such asWercker, Dan.com, Hubs.Com, Bouw7, iClinic, and s and Brincr. The company has offices in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Bogota.
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