Food waste reduction app Flashfood raises $12.3M

Dive Brief:

Flashfood has raised $12.3 million in a Series A funding round, the food waste reduction app announced on Monday. The round was led by S2G Ventures.
Flashfood, which partners with retailers to offer nearly-expired products at discounted prices, said it plans to use the funding to expand its U.S. presence.
In its funding announcement, Flashfood noted the U.S. retail sector is losing $37 billion annually in value due to food reaching its best-by date before it gets sold.

Dive Insight:

Flashfood, a free app available on iOS and Android, has partnered with numerous grocers in U.S. and Canada, including Meijer, Tops, Family Fare and Ahold Delhaize banners including The Giant Company and Stop & Shop. The app, which is available in more than 1,200 stores, allows customers to find items nearing their best-by date and buy them for up to 50% off.

To date, Flashfood said it has diverted more than 33 million pounds of food from landfills and provided $100 million worth of savings to customers, while allowing grocers to sell food that would have likely ended up getting thrown out.

"This funding comes at a time when Flashfood is needed more than ever. It will fuel our ability to reach more shoppers and partner with sustainability-minded grocery chains across America," Josh Domingues, founder and CEO of Flashfood, said in a statement.

Along with S2G Ventures, other investors including ArcTern Ventures, General Catalyst, Food Retail Ventures, Rob Gierkink and Alex Moorhead participated in the round. As part of the Series A round, Chuck Templeton, managing director of S2G Ventures and founder of OpenTable, will join Flashfood’s board of directors.

The funding round and Flashfood's expansion comes at a time when grocers are looking for ways to mitigate food waste as part of their larger sustainability goals. The Food Industry Association recently called on grocers to take more steps to address food waste, noting that businesses and consumers in the U.S., combined, throw out 25% to 40% of food grown, processed and transported domestically each year.

Other companies working to reduce food waste have also recently announced large funding rounds and some notable investors. Last summer, Apeel raised $250 million in a Series E funding that included Katy Perry. Last spring, shelf-life enhancing startup Hazel Technologies raised a $70 million Series C round.