Winnow secures £5.6m investment to expand food waste solution

Food waste specialist Winnow has secured an additional £5.62m ($7.4m) of investment from Circularity Capital, Mustard Seed and D-Ax to further expand the business.

Winnow is the technology company behind the Winnow Waste Monitor, which helps kitchens cut food waste by automatically recording what is thrown away.

Marc Zornes, Winnow co-founder and CEO, said: "This fundraising announcement is a key milestone in our journey and validation that our technology is driving real value for our clients.

"The hospitality sector is quickly waking up to the opportunity that food waste presents. We are encouraged by some of our biggest clients now having the confidence to make public commitments to reduce food waste, and we expect the rest of the industry to follow suit doing the right thing for their businesses and for the planet."

Winnow launched in 2013 and now has operations in 29 countries. The funding will be used to accelerate growth within Winnow's existing customers, build international capabilities to further broaden their customer base and continue its technology development road map.

David Mowat, co-founding partner of Circularity Capital, said: "This is a great fit with our focus on the circular economy as a lens to invest and create value. Globally we throw away an estimated $1t worth of food each year. Just focusing on hospitality, that's a £758b ($100b) market opportunity."

Winnow said that its customers typically see food waste cut in half within 12 months from installation, reducing food purchasing costs by 3%-8%.

Henry Wigan, co-founder at impact investors Mustard Seed, added: "We believe in backing businesses with purpose at Mustard Seed. As an early stage investor, we've been with Winnow since its seed round and are encouraged by the traction they've built with several market leaders. We expect to see the wider hospitality industry accelerate the adoption of digital tools to measure and reduce food waste given the significant benefits others are already seeing, both in terms of sustainability and profitability."

Winnow has a mix of private individual and venture capitalist investors. Circularity Capital was a new investor in this round of growth. Both Mustard Seed and D-Ax have invested previously.

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