SPOONFED, the catering sector software specialist, has targeted growth in mainland Europe and the Far East after securing nearly £600,000 in fresh funding.
The company, which allows sandwich shop chains and restaurant groups to manage their corporate catering work, said the second-stage funding from angel investment syndicate Equity Gap, Scottish Investment Bank and private investors, gives it the platform to accelerate growth.
Spoonfed’s software is already used by food retailers and restaurants in London, Australia, the US and Canada, which are capitalising on the growing business to business catering market. Now, having proved the software works, Spoonfed is looking to build sales much further afield as it receives enquiries from around the world for its services.
And it expects to double to its current seven-strong headcount to 14 by next July, and to 20 a year later, as it continues to grow.
Willie Biggart, who founded Spoonfed with Murray McNicol in 2013, said: “This money will really allow us to accelerate growth. With a subscription-based software business, a recurring revenue model, it’s all about funding the gap while you drive towards profitability. [We are] very encouraged with the responses we are getting.”
Mr Biggart said that Spoonfed was initially “bootstrapped” funded by “sweat equity partners” X402, a software development company, Good Creative and Vialex, a legal services firm, as well as the founders themselves. That allowed the owners to “prove the concept” and demonstrate that it worked on the cloud. A fundraiser then brought in £250,000, which allowed the company to build “sales traction”. At that stage the focus was on independent caterers, but Mr Biggart said they quickly realised that their software appealed to bigger players too, including restaurant groups.
Spoonfed’s customers include Social Bite in Scotland and London-based restaurant chains Le Pain Quotidien and Benugo, as well as caterers in Sydney, Manhattan and Beverly Hills.
Mr Biggart, who along with Mr McNicol are the company’s biggest shareholders, said the system eliminates mistakes, ensures orders are accurate and saves businesses time.
He said: “If you take America, for example, the restaurant chains have a huge incremental revenue stream coming from drop off catering to offices. I think that is going to happen here.”
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