Afresh Will Expand Footprint Following $115M in Series B Funding
Fresh food technology provider Afresh plans to use the money from its most recent Series B funding round to grow its Fresh Operating System and expand its footprint internationally to Europe. The $115 million in funding was led by Spark Capital with participation from Insight Partners, VMG Partners and Bright Pixel Capital, and with additional contributions from Walter Robb of S2G Ventures and all other previous investors.
The funding will power an expansion of Afresh’s Fresh Operating System, which offers a solution for forecasting, inventory, ordering and store operations, and will support new fresh categories including meat and bakery. An expansion of operations to Europe and additional hiring will also be undertaken.
"Food, more so than anything else, shapes the health of people and our planet,” said Matt Schwartz, co-founder and CEO of San Francisco-based Afresh. “We founded Afresh with the purpose of eliminating food waste and making nutritious food more accessible. We're thrilled to use this capital to expand the scale and scope of our Fresh Operating System.”
Afresh reports that it tripled its customer base in 2021, bringing on both regional and national chains including Cub Foods and Albertsons. The company will launch at more than 2,300 Albertsons stores before the end of the year, and aims to serve 10% of U.S. grocery stores within that time period.
Users of Afresh’s technology average food waste reduction of 25% or more and also see a 2%-4% increase in top line revenue growth. Retailers also experience a 40% or more increase in their produce operating margin.
"The transformative results that Afresh provides are not only seen in grocers' bottom lines, but also extend to the impact on our planet through the reduction of food waste," said Will Reed, general partner at investor Spark Capital. "We're proud to support Afresh through their next stage of growth as they continue on their mission to curb climate change and improve our ability to feed the world in healthy ways."
