Just Fund: Just Eat reckons these five startups will be food tech’s next big thing | City A.M.
Just Eat is giving back, it seems: the food delivery startup has chosen five food tech startups to get £20,000 and receive training and mentoring as part of its seed programme.
Buzzer, which helps restaurants harness feedback, and Nourish’d, which allows companies to subside healthy meals for their staff, are two of the firms which will take part in the 12-week programme.
The other winners include MyBaker, a platform for independent bakers, Qincho, a research centre for the future of food, and Sure, a Facebook Messenger chatbot which curates the most Instagrammed food and drink spots around.
Just Eat said it wants to “transform the food industry, from farm to fork to bin”.
“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,” insisted Stuart Mainwaring, head of ventures at Just Eat.
“Much like our 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.”
Read more: Just Eat shares jump at the open as order numbers rocket
The next Just Eat? The five shortlisted startups
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 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.
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 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.
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.