Fresho advances plans to make UK food supply chains more sustainable

08-Jun-2022 - Last updated on 08-Jun-2022 at 09:55 GMT

Sustainability and supply: Fresho accelerates expansion plans in bid to better sustainability of food supply chains (Getty/ Mike Harrington)

Fresho, a company aiming to make food supply chains more sustainable between restaurants and suppliers, has accelerated its UK expansion plans after raising £8m.

More than 38,000 foodservice venues, including restaurants, hotels and cafes across the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the United States have now used the software solution.

Fresho co-founder and managing director James Andronis said: “We’ve managed to attract some of the best talent in the UK, Australia and New Zealand and they’re steering our continued investment in state-of-the-art technology.”

He continued: “Like our other markets, restaurants and suppliers in the US are itching to be more progressive but still working with antiquated processes such as email, phone calls, whatsapp and even the old fax machine.

“B2B food supply chains are changing at a rapid rate around the world with an increased focus on efficiency and lowering waste. We understand the industry and our tech solves key pain points for these businesses. The adoption of tech is speeding up and it’s fascinating to watch the industry progress at such a fast pace.”

Depth and breadth

UK venues that have ordered with Fresho include central London sites Wild Honey, Sofitel St James and Polpo, Soho, as well as the Bingham Riverhouse in Richmond, south west London.

Wild Honey head chef Gergely Csaba said: “Since taking over as Head Chef at Sofitel St James, I’ve transitioned into using Fresho. I am very specific about every bit of produce I buy, so I was nervous at first. However, Fresho makes it so easy for me to customise what I order so I get exactly what I need, when I want it.”

Fresho co-founder and managing director Huw Birrell believed it was the combination of “depth and breadth” the company held in the food supply chain across various geographies, along with its technology which gave them a bank of insight into food trends and market movements.

Simplicity and saving money

Adams Wholesale Ali Ahmet, who has used Fresho to order online, said: “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. In only a couple of months, 60% or more of my customers are now ordering on Fresho which is amazing really.

“We started from nothing and now we’re a £20M business – with Fresho we're all set to grow even faster now. Fresho is exactly what I thought it would be – it’s the best piece of software we've ever worked with.”