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Fundraising | AI
Spoon Guru nets Series A funding for AI food search technology
Lucy Ingham reports on the details of UK startup Spoon Guru's latest investment round.
Spoon Guru, a UK-based startup using artificial intelligence (AI) powered intelligent food search and discovery, has announced that it has closed a Series A funding round.
The startup has not specified the precise total raised, but has said it has secured “multi-million dollar investment” from W23, the venture capital arm of Woolworths Group, the largest retailer in Australia.
Founded in 2015, Spoon Guru uses AI to enable retailers to deliver personalised food search results and recommendations based on a variety of factors, including their health and dietary needs.
Its customers include Tesco in the UK, where it helps the retailer provide recommendations based on dietary preferences, and Woolworths Group in Australia and New Zealand. It also has key customers in the Netherlands and the US.
Spoon Guru funding comes during global attention to health
The funding will enable Spoon Guru to continue its expansion globally, focusing particularly on Europe and the US.
“It is our mission to provide retailers with the tools they need to ensure healthier food discovery, thereby improving basket sizes and values and in turn driving customer loyalty and growth for our partners,” said Markus Stripf, co-founder of Spoon Guru.
“The funding will ensure we can further develop our product suite and expertise in driving towards this goal.”
Spoon Guru has attracted funding at a time when there is ever-greater focus on health and obesity, in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
“With governments worldwide launching campaigns to tackle obesity and related lifestyle diseases, consumers are now thinking about how food impacts their health and wellness ,” said Stripf.
“There is a desire from shoppers for healthier choices and with a significant swing to online shopping, grocery retailers have the opportunity to use technologies like Spoon Guru to drive and scale healthier baskets.”
This focus has also made Spoon Guru an appealing option for investors in the foodtech space.
“Our investment in Spoon Guru fits perfectly into our portfolio of strategic partnerships with game-changing startups that are helping to shape the future of online retail,” said Ingrid Maes, managing director of W23.
“Spoon Guru’s specialist algorithms are already meeting the health goals and dietary requirements of millions of Woolworths’ customers.
“Our partnership model will give the team at Spoon Guru the freedom to continue doing what they do best, while also helping Woolworths differentiate its offer and accelerate the Group’s ability to meet the changing health needs of customers. We look forward to being part of Spoon Guru’s next growth phase.”
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