A startup that came up with a clever way of cutting food waste has raised $12 million
- A Swedish startup that sells spare food from cafes and supermarkets at a discount has raised $12 million.
- Karma's Series A round includes US investor, Bessemer, in an ongoing trend of American capital flowing into Nordic startups after the success of Spotify and Supercell.
- Karma could provide a cheaper alternative to takeaway startups like Deliveroo.
A European startup that sells off spare food from local cafes and supermarkets at a discount has raised $12 million (£9.4 million) from investors, including US firm Bessemer Venture Partners.
Karma is headquartered in Sweden and expanded to the UK earlier this year. It partners up with supermarkets, restaurants, and even food delivery services to sell off leftover food direct to consumers, who then go and pick up their discounted items directly.
The startup wants to help reduce food waste, but it has the bonus side effect of providing consumers with a cheap alternative to takeaway services like Deliveroo.
The Series A round was led by Swedish firm Kinnevik, appliance manufacturer Electrolux, e.ventures with Bessemer also taking part. US startup investments in Europe are slowly ticking up, and American backers are particularly interested in the Nordics after the success of companies such as Spotify, Supercell, and Zendesk.
Karma's restaurant partners include Mayfair restaurant Aubaine, Italian chain Polpo, and Caravan. While it has supermarket partners in its home market of Sweden, it doesn't have any British supermarkets on board yet.
Hjalmar Ståhlberg Nordegren, CEO and cofounder of Karma, said in a statement: "We are delighted to announce this investment which will accelerate our mission to reduce food waste globally."