Frichti, Nestor, Pickles, Foodcheri,... There are many foodtech startups that prepare and deliver good food. This competition has not frightened Fati Mrani, the founder of Avekapeti, who has just raised €600,000 by Equity Crowdfunding - using ChainRaizer's services - to develop her company canteen in collaborative mode.
Source : Avekapeti
Avekapeti relies on non-professional chefs who cook for the companies in their neighborhood. After delivering 15,000 meals, the startup wants to expand, especially in outlying and industrial areas, where the catering offer is still underdeveloped.
What differentiates Avekapeti from the many startups already present in the foodtech/delivery sector?
We are aware that this is a very competitive market, but Avekapeti is different from other foodtech startups for several reasons. First of all, we have kitchens all over France since they are located in the homes of our chefs. We can therefore open a zone very quickly. We have opened 6 cities in 1 year.
We can thus bring a solution to companies located on the outskirts of large cities, in industrial zones, whereas foodtech startups are generally concentrated in large cities, because of the limited delivery perimeter around their kitchens. So we offer an alternative canteen system to all companies, SMEs and sites of large groups that are too small to benefit from a Sodexo-type canteen. In addition, we do not have delivery people. The "chefs" deliver in person to employees of companies in their neighborhood, for a totally collaborative and personalized experience!
Finally, unlike other foodtech startups, meals on Avekapeti are prepared in small quantities. Each cordon bleu prepares an average of ten meals per day to guarantee customers 100% home-made menus, based on fresh products. Controlling the number of meals prepared per cook means avoiding a form of industrialization of their cuisine.
What are your main growth drivers?
Our main growth lever is geographic expansion. We would like to develop everywhere in France and launch the international market quite quickly. Even if we are already present in 7 cities in France (Strasbourg, Nantes, Montpellier, Bordeaux...), we would like to refocus on the Ile-De-France region with this second round of financing.
Source : Avekapeti
Why did you raise through crowdfunding rather than with a fund? What convinced your investors?
Already I think that our concept and our positioning seduced and we achieved a nice growth in 2018 since our turnover was multiplied by 7. In addition, the team is solid and complementary. We were very lucky because we had the choice on this round and we favored "smart money".
Thanks to ChainRaizer and its community of investors, we have surrounded ourselves with successful entrepreneurs such as the founders of Atelier des Chefs, Travel Car, Squarebreak and MesDocteurs. Benefiting from the experience of entrepreneurs who know our sector well or the growth levers of marketplaces and digital will allow us, I think, to avoid many mistakes.
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