London, Nov. 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Every night, thousands of fresh food wholesalers work through the early hours processing a flood of restaurant orders that arrive via text, email, and voicemail - a critical but chaotic process that determines next morning's deliveries to restaurants across the world. Today, Fresho, the market-leading order management platform that helps fresh food wholesalers operate more efficiently and better service their restaurant customers, has announced the successful close of its $17M Series B funding round, bringing total investment to $50M to date.
The oversubscribed round welcomed both new and existing shareholders, led by Geoff Tarrant, Co-Founder and former Executive Chairman of Payapps, the global construction software firm acquired by Autodesk for $600M in 2024. Tarrant, who also served as director of ASX-listed Adbri, will join Fresho's Board of Directors.
Founded in 2015 by James Andronis, drawing on 15 years' experience running one of Australia's leading seafood wholesalers, and Huw Birrell, a technology entrepreneur with international finance expertise, Fresho has revolutionized how fresh food wholesalers and their restaurant customers work together. The platform recently celebrated processing its 30 millionth order since 2016, with 10 million orders in the past year alone.
Fresho co-founders: Huw Birrell and James Andronis.
"We are pleased to have closed this round in a challenging fundraising environment. This speaks to the size of the opportunity, and to our record of consistent growth and capital management to date," said James Andronis, co-founder and CEO of Fresho. "Fresh food distribution has been traditionally slow to adopt technology, but a confluence of factors are causing this to change. These include margin pressures, skills shortages and questions of succession in family-owned firms. As a result, we are seeing unprecedented interest in how technology can drive efficient operations, better customer service, and improved work/life balance for owners and managers."
Fresho's platform has fundamentally transformed how fresh food moves from supplier to restaurant kitchen. The company's technology directly addresses the industry's unique challenges, where produce travels from farm or ocean to restaurant in days, prices fluctuate daily, and high-end restaurant customers demand perfection. By maintaining a closed marketplace model that protects and strengthens existing supplier-restaurant relationships, Fresho has earned the trust of leading wholesalers while digitizing their operations.
The Fresho platform in action.
The impact is particularly visible in daily operations. Where suppliers once dedicated overnight staff to manually process orders arriving through emails, texts, and voicemails, Fresho's AI-powered system now automatically converts incoming orders into structured data, while giving restaurants direct access to live pricing and availability through its app. This transformation has not only eliminated unsociable working hours but has dramatically improved order accuracy and processing speed.
"This funding marks an exciting new phase for us as we double down on our commitment to reshape the fresh food supply chain with innovative tech," said Huw Birrell, co-founder and COO. "By investing in AI and emerging technologies, we're not just enhancing operational efficiency; we're enabling our customers to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving market. As we expand across our existing markets and enter the US, our focus remains on pioneering solutions that help fresh food wholesalers deliver outstanding service with speed, precision, and insight."
The platform's effectiveness is evident in its adoption by prestigious establishments, including Michelin-starred venues such as Wild Honey within Sofitel St James in London, Cote and Le Bernardin in New York City, and leading restaurants like Bennelong and Cafe Sydney in Australia. "Finally after 12 years of trying to develop or buy a usable online system, we met the Fresho people and got what we always wanted. Our customers can now order and pay online – it's super simple to use and has saved us heaps of time and money already," said Ali Ahment, Owner of Adams Fruit & Veg Wholesale in Worthing, UK.
Industry experts support the digitization trend, with Deloitte advocating for "upgrading legacy systems and creating the foundation needed to develop a full digital stack for an always-on integrated fresh supply chain. These solutions provide the flexibility and scale that improve visibility and process efficiencies that provide exponential benefits."
The new funding will accelerate Fresho's investment in AI and emerging technologies, while driving further growth in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. The company will also establish on-ground presence in the US market in 2025, building on successful launches with customers in Texas, New York, and California over the past two years.
Geoff Tarrant, who led the funding round, commented: "As a shareholder for more than 5 years, I have seen the great business James, Huw and the Fresho team have built over that period. I am excited by the opportunity Fresho has to improve the way the fresh food industry operates. The software platform Fresho has built together with recent AI advancements will provide benefits for all participants in the fresh food market. I look forward to joining the board of Fresho as part of my further investment in the recently completed capital raising."
Fresho is on a mission to transform fresh food wholesale for the benefit of people - by replacing stress and long hours with systems that support sustainable work/life balance - and the planet, by contributing to understanding, and reducing food waste.
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Media images can be found here.
About Fresho
Fresho is used by tens of thousands of chefs who simply reach for their device to choose exact quantities for their needs, much like an online shopping experience but specifically tailored to the fast paced B2B food industry. Buyers see live prices and specials, allowing for informed product choices and assistance in food cost management. Suppliers receive the order immediately in an easy-to-use dashboard, which reduces data entry and errors, and helps them fulfil orders without delay. The real time sales data enables suppliers to manage purchasing more efficiently and eliminates waste before it becomes an issue. See how it works here.
