GERMANY – Choco, a Berlin, Germany-based company focused on simplifying how restaurants order from suppliers, raised $30.2m in funding.
The round was led by Coatue Management with participation from previous investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Atlantic Labs, Target Global and Greyhound. In conjunction with the funding, Coatue Chairman Dan Rose, a 20-year industry veteran and former senior leader at Facebook, will join Choco’s board of directors, along with Coatue Partner Bennett Siegel. The company, which has raised a total of $71.5m since 2018, intends to use the funds to expand into new markets and scale its team to 200 employees by the end of the year. Founded by serial tech entrepreneurs Daniel Khachab, Julian Hammer and Rogerio da Silva Yokomizo, Choco is launching a direct-to-consumer program to link increased consumer demand for groceries delivered to homes, with the excess supply of restaurant-quality, locally-sourced produce from wholesale food suppliers. The company will provide next-day delivery to buyers, with increased sustainability measures as products are sold fresh, locally and with less packaging. Choco is rolling out this program in all 17 of its global markets (in eight countries that include Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Brazil and the United States), with dedicated direct-to-consumer e-commerce websites set up for suppliers and consumers in each market. The company combines mobile e-commerce tools with a chat app platform to enable restaurant managers and food suppliers to digitally migrate their supply chain operations. Additionally, as part of this initiative Choco will donate 100% of profits, until restaurants reopen, to regional funds to help local restaurants stay afloat. 17/04/2020
